the popo did what?!?

If you want to learn a lot about the city you've just moved to, get in a car accident with a policeman.  That's what I did, and these are things I've learned in the past few days:

1. You learn the locations of Urgent Cares, tow truck lots, and rental car places, and you meet all sorts of cops, and all sorts of locals.
2. Rental car companies are not good with renting cars immediately.  It flusters them.
3. Rental car companies offer different (read: CHEAPER) rates to insurance companies than they offer to individuals.  They are also willing to negotiate price.  (They also try to tell you such nonsense like, "Minivans are sweet rides."  I'll wait 20 hours for another option, thanks.)
4. It takes at least 24 hours for the police to submit a police report.  And that's if you're lucky enough for the accident to be the fault of an off-duty police officer who was driving his Cop Car.
5. If you get hit by said police officer and it was entirely his fault, the city will pay for everything.  And be very prompt.  And kind.  And anxious to please.  As in the other party's insurance agent will call you about your claim, at 8.30 am the morning after you leave them a voicemail. And bring you cookies with your final check. To your workplace.
6. If said police officer hits you, all his buddies will come by to make fun of him.  As will many locals.  Everyone has a good laugh about it, really.  (Assuming no one got hurt.)
7. For example, I now have met 6 police officers of my fair city.
8. People in general will ask you if a police officer hit you, laugh when you say yes, and assure you that, "gurrrl, you gone get PAID!"
9. There are men who carry around knives that are really closer to being termed "machetes," who have nicknames like "Crocodile" (short for Crocodile Dundee), who will offer their services to poor little women who look more like teenagers.  They may even tell you things like, "The police? They around.  But me?  I'm ALWAYS here.  This my area! You need anything, you let me know; I take care of you.  You need anything?"
10. If police officers offer you a ride home, you take it.  And they will let you ride in the front.  And maybe look at you a little funny when you tell them you're in that city for seminary.  And then proceed to tell you about an article they read about a 20-something woman who recently became a nun.  And then agree with you when you say that's a little intense.
11. It is a lot easier to give your personal information for the police report if you are not moving into your residence a few weeks later, and thus currently living in a friend's house, neither address of which are your permanent residence on your driver's license (that one being in a different state).
12. That whole 'adrenaline/shock from an accident makes you not realize you have pain until a few hours later' thing?  That's not a joke.  That is legit, my friend.  So when they offer you a medic, just say yes.
13. There are multiple cultures in a city.  Sometimes you even hear three different accents (Asian, Hispanic, then South African) when trying to ask for directions to Urgent Care.
14. Don't ask people for directions to Urgent Care.  You may not know where it is, but neither do they.
15. If you go to Urgent Care, and nothing is actually wrong, they'll still give you a free wrap for your wrist!  Yay free stuff!
16. Plus, wearing a wrap on your wrist makes you look, and feel, really cool.
17. If the X-ray technician asks you if there's any chance you could be pregnant, they won't ask you again in disbelief of your answer if you respond emphatically, "Definitely NOT."
18. Living out of your car while you house-sit, because you'd rather not move everything twice--not the most helpful when your car gets towed.

a little Tom time

Usually, I am very bad at growing plants.  Or very good at killing them.  Whichever, really.  But a month or so ago, my parents had a bazillion (ok, really probably 50) tomato plants, and they offered me one.  So I thought, can't hurt to try, right?  ...Sure.  Right.

So I took two, Tom the Tomato...and Jerry.  Here they are:

Clearly, my magic is already at work with Jerry, the one in the Clemson pot.

But the good news is, Tom is doing wonderfully!  After killing Jerry, Tom just flourished.  (How come that was never in the cartoon?  Oh, nevermind.)  Tom is now starting to produce little baby toms, so I just wanted to share:

sweet reading...sweet summertime

The best books, I think, are the ones that make you want to put them down and write something yourself.

I've just started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and in addition to having a quite delightful title, the whole book itself provides fodder for any book lover who has the time.  (And let's face it...true book lovers always have the time, even when they don't.)

I am already quite taken with this particular book.  And to give you a small taste, here are a few quotes.  Hopefully after sampling, you'll want the whole Pie...

Perhaps there is some secret sort of homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.  How delightful if that were true.

...

That's what I love about reading:  one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book.  It's geometrically progressive--all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment.

 You see?  How can you not fall in love with this book?  With these words?  With the structuring, the taste of the ideas, with the beauty of their organization?  The way the love of literature is nestled amongst the pages, flowering with imagery that makes you...well, sit down and write, and use words like 'taste', 'nestled,' and 'flowering.'

I thought my first blog post, post-exams, would be about seminary.  I thought it would be a summation of the year, a beginning exploration into what I've learned so far.

It is more appropriate, then, that it is rather about what I love.  Which is seminary, yes.  But it is also reading.  Sweet, relaxing, fulfilling, joyful reading.

growing a new skin

Tonight, I was so lucky to get the chance to hear one of my sweet friends play guitar and sing at a local coffee shop.  (Shameless plug, here:  http://rachelstevener.com/)  She's very talented, so I mean it when I say I was lucky to hear her.

One of her songs, in particular, had a line that struck me:

I asked the sky for sun today, but the sky decided rain was a better way to make things grow.



As I've gone through this year, I've had a lot of sunshine.  But to be honest, I feel a little like the title of that song:  inside out.  Because my attitude actually tends towards the opposite of the one in this line.  What I mean is, I always associate growth with rain.  I see how God has done so much work in my life during the hard times, so much so that I've come to expect those times to be the only times where He teaches me.  When things seem sunny, I'm either wondering what I'm doing wrong, or I'm looking at the sky, searching for the dark clouds that are sure to be rolling in, waiting for the storm to let loose in all its magnificent glory.  And I actually delight in those storms, which is not something I want to lose ahold of.

But thankfully, God has brought me to understand the truth behind the words above: just like actual plants, He uses both rain and sunshine to grow His people.

Let me explain what I mean with a beautiful example from the past few weeks.

I've been working part-time with the campus ministry of RUF this past year.  I've also been in seminary full-time.  This means that I've been very, very busy.  My job with RUF is based on support, but frankly, support-raising with this many constraints on your time is difficult.  So when I got a call a little over two weeks ago that my account with RUF was in deficit, and that I wouldn't get paid if I didn't raise enough to get it back in the positive, I wasn't exactly surprised.  Stressed, frustrated with myself, anxious, despairing...yes.  But not surprised.

So I spent the next two days on the phone with the RUF office in Atlanta, and praying.  Or perhaps arguing, would be more accurate.  Responding in frustration to God, telling Him that now was really not a good time to have to deal with this, between the four papers, five exams, the waiting to hear about a job for next year, the contemplating having to tell my dear students I wouldn't be returning, the deep sadness at leaving RUF, and the deep fear over what my life will look like without it...  I asked God why He would add this stressor to my mind, and how would I find time to raise the amount I needed and still finish all the schoolwork that was due?

And then of course, the following prayer of repentance, and asking God to simply let me respond to this in holiness, to trust Him, and to not completely fall apart.  To submit my anxiety to the truths of His Word.  To give me the strength to follow through with the tasks He'd set before me.

The second of those two days, I sat in a Books-a-Million and calculated out about how much support I'd need to raise in the next two weeks to bring my account back...and it ended up being about $2,000.  So I wrote out some note cards to some supporters, and asked them to pray that God would raise those funds.  ... Two days after that, I found out that the church I grew up in cut me a check for RUF at their meeting earlier in the week.

This means that two days before I had even found out my account was in trouble, a decision was made to send $2,000, the exact amount I needed, to RUF for my support.  Before I even knew I had a problem, God had already taken care of it.

But interestingly enough, He still let me go through the stress and anxiety before showing me the solution.  And I think I've realized why.  Heading into exams, into the end of something I've been involved in for the past seven years, moving to a new town, and starting a new job that I'm so afraid I'll fail at...these will be difficult things.  But with such a mighty proof of His hand on my life, and of His provision for me, my trust has been strengthened so immensely that I'm thankful it's happened.  For now I have something to cling to as I head into the unknown, and face so many stressful and difficult things.

And I also think that God was using this, along with so many other things that have happened in my life this year, to show me that He can grow me through sunshine just as well as rain.  That we can learn as much about Him through the things that make us smile as the ones that make us cry.  For I have certainly learned that yes, God disciplines His children.  He sometimes allows the difficult things to happen to teach us, to admonish us, or to remind us of our need for Him.  But He also delights in His children, and takes pleasure in blessing them with pleasing things.  He showers us with gifts simply because He loves us, and likes us.

And all this sunshine has reminded me of the deep, deep love God has for me, individually, specifically, uniquely.  I've never felt more a part of a love story in my life.  I've never felt more like a delighted little child.  I've never been more content.  I feel like I'm growing a new skin, one that basks in the sun even while yearning for the coolness of rain.  I feel like I've been sending out roots into soil, ones that search for the moisture of rain-soaked dirt, but that now I'm finally allowing the spring to coax me out of the ground like a shoot of green, tentatively spreading forth tender leaves that shyly trace the path of the sun through the skies.  And I don't think I've ever been happier.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

a hungering

...but not for games. Yes, I'm speaking of The Hunger Games. If you've not heard of this trilogy, it has become quite popular of late. The first movie came out a few days ago, and I had the chance to see it tonight. But before I give my comments, you should know a few things:

1. This may contain spoilers. I don't know yet, but I'm not going to stop myself if I need them to make my point.

2. I've only read two of the three books. So there could be a final point (in fact, this is probable) that I haven't understood or recognized yet because I haven't gotten to book three. So I very well could finish the trilogy and recant a good half of this post.

Ok, now that I've qualified...

I did not enjoy the Hunger Games movie. The premise of the movie is an overbearing capital city that has stripped the citizens of the country of their rights, of oppression, and the striving for social justice. Every year, in this story, 24 children are placed in an "arena" to fight to the death, televised for the whole country to watch.

Now, neither the book nor the movie is advocating this. The stance of both is clearly one of opposition. But here's the thing: I sat through the movie, and it was so hopeless. Not that it doesn't have a "happy" ending, but...it doesn't. Even the successes throughout the movie are overshadowed with a sense that it doesn't matter, its cost was too great, or something depressing. And while I appreciate the angle the story is trying to take, to encourage us (maybe?) to fight for social justice and what not, I had a hard time sitting through it.

Don't get me wrong, I think social justice is incredibly important. But is turning an important cause into entertainment the best idea? Why do we want these ideas to become commonplace? Why do we want to desensitize ourselves to it? Because honestly, I think that's what's happening. I remember, when I was a kid, I watched the movie Home Alone. And I thought it was horribly graphic and violent.

...um, yup.

Now? The idea of its violence is laughable. I watched a man's face get blown off on a tv show, "blood" splattering the camera glass, and I barely flinched. How many horrific ideas have now become everyday thoughts because we've inserted them into the entertainment industry? We let them enter our ears, our eyes, and our minds. We've become accustom to the way they taste, rolling around in the ever-open mouths of our "Smells Like Teen Spirit" generation.

And I never thought I would write a post like this, honestly, because I definitely believe we need to be "in the world, but not of the world." And that verse says that we do need to be in the world. And that means understanding culture. Being aware of it. And I'm also not trying to cry, with Chicken Little, that the sky is falling. If anything, it's always been falling. I think too often we see the horrific times we live in and selfishly forget that we are not the center of time; history indeed repeats itself.

But I left that movie theater with two emotions rolling under my skin, through my veins: despondency, utter sadness at the thought of the story. And the deepest hunger...for the New Heavens and the New Earth. I don't want to see any more movies like that, because that sin and evil is real. It is all too existent. And it is all too evident in real life. And I'm afraid that if I see a movie in 10 years that is of a similar caliber, I won't respond in the same way. But I don't want to lose an inability to stomach it. I want to keep that hunger for justice and righteousness, and ultimately, for the reign of the One who will bring it.

the difficulties of grace

*This post is not a post about Grace, the woman previously blogged about who attends my seminary, but rather about the actual theological concept.

I don't know how to respond to grace. Or I guess I do, but I can't ever seem to give grace the appropriate response. I'm not really talking about the big picture here (although perhaps the trouble finds its way there as well), but the everyday gifts, both big and small. Like the times when you do something legitimately wrong, and you know you've messed it up, and you know you deserve the consequences, and you're almost relieved that you'll receive those consequences. And you feel guilt. And shame, deep shame.

And then the other party involved (for there's almost always a second party) goes and throws a whole wrench into the process and gives you grace. Grace beyond measure.

...

Why is this the moment when the real freak out begins?

...

I'm realizing, right now as I type, that maybe the beginning of the answer is when I mentioned the word relief, above. Why do we really feel relieved to accept the consequences of our actions? Maybe it's because I can pay for the wrong. I can earn my way back. I assume the cost on myself, and therefore I'm not in debt to anyone, I don't need the payment of anyone else, and I still retain independence and control over the trajectory of my life.

Accepting grace is hard.

Because it's an act of humility, an act of submission. Because it's a confrontation with sin, and one you have to admit you've lost, at that. And to add insult to injury, you're not even allowed to try and fix it. Because if you did...you wouldn't realize you need people.

Who knew? Well, Jesus.

Yes, that's the Sunday School answer. But it's also true, and that's pretty significant. Because when Jesus prayed the 'high priestly prayer' in John 17, he asked God that believers, both present and future, would be one, as he and the Father are one (vv. 20-21). Christ prayed that we'd live as one, and we can't do that when we don't joyfully accept grace from our fellow believers.

glory(ous)

I have a pre-released copy of Matthew Perryman Jones' new cd (coming out in less than a month now), and I have fallen in love with the final song. I don't even know the name of it, because there's no information up yet about the actual cd, nor is there a recording anywhere yet for you to hear it (which is more than half the beauty of it), but I've included the lyrics here. Because it is simply glorious. And I haven't heard anything in quite some time that makes me yearn for Heaven quite like this song. If you see me on a regular basis, you should seriously consider asking me if you can snatch a listen.

Enjoy.

Into the land of the living

Black bleeds orange, into blue

I am coming to life

Light is breaking through

I can hear the bells in the city

Across the ancient shore

I am ready to fight

Let down the scarlet cord

It's time to shed this masquerade

Oh, you cannot love in moderation

You're dancing with your dead man's bones

Lay your soul on the threshing floor

Between the walls and the river

Shoulders bear the sacred stones

We made it alive

We're not alone

Kiss the ground and change your name

No, you cannot love in moderation

You're dancing with your dead man's bones

Lay your soul on the threshing floor

I heard the distant battle drum

Mocking birds spoke in tongues

Longing for the day to come,

I set my face, forsook my fears

I saw the city through my tears

The darkness will soon disappear,

Be swallowed by the sun...

I am coming home.

I am coming home.

I am coming home.

I am coming home...

a mess in the kitchen

If you've ever lived with me, you know what happens when I cook or bake...I make a HUGE mess. (But I almost always clean it up. ...almost.)

I've been making one of those famed messes today, and along the way, I've learned several things. I thought I'd share them with all of you, in case you'd like to learn from my...shall we say, struggles. Or occasionally, mishaps, even. Ha. ...

1. Tires are an effective way to crush oreos for making oreo truffles. Food processors, however, make CONSIDERABLY less mess, are far easier, and are much faster. (If you choose to go the tire route, however, please be sure to double bag the oreos. Everyone who will eat them will be grateful.)

2. If you need a fruit puree for your recipe, spend the extra money to buy fresh fruit. It's much less complicated than frozen fruit, and the extra money is well worth the decrease in effort and mental anguish over why the puree is so thick and how to make it thinner.

3. If a recipe calls for softened cream cheese...it means softened cream cheese. Cream cheese is like any man...you can't take short cuts; you need to give that cream cheese time to soften up! Your elbow will thank you later.

4. If you're melting white chocolate, DO NOT LET IT COME INTO CONTACT WITH WATER. Or food coloring. Or any liquid, for that matter. (This also means, be sure that if you wash the container you're melting it in, be sure it is completely dry.) Otherwise, it starts to look like the clumpy lard that it actually is. And nobody wants that.

5. Timing is everything. So be sure you know when you need things to be ready, and do as much before hand as possible. Things tend to take longer than you think they will, so if you're preparing these delicious treats for a party (as I am today), do as much as possible the day before. If you're not able to...have a stress reliever on hand. I find a simple glass of wine does the trick quite nicely.

coffee with Grace

So I know it sounds from the title like this post will be about grace...well, it is. Only it's Grace, not grace. With a capital G. Because Grace is a person.

Grace is a Korean woman auditing a few classes at seminary, and a couple of friends and I had coffee with her during our lunch hour today. (Hence the title-I know, I blow you away with my ingenuity.) I must give full credit for the plan to my sweet friend Rachel; I'd never even met Grace before Rachel suggested a few of us eat lunch with her today.

I have to admit, at first I approached the lunch with trepidation, because I am simply not good with unknown situations and/or new people. But goodness, y'all, it was simply delightful. Grace bought us all coffee, and we just sat and...well, peppered her with questions. And the more we asked, and the more she answered, the more the smile on my face grew. Because it was just so neat.

Grace had been praying since she was 9ish (I think?) to come to America. When she became a believer (still in Korea), she began to dream of coming to America to study theology. She told us of how she was a member of a church of 60,000. (Which was fascinating in itself, because we soon realized she meant that it was a bunch of churches, not 60,000 at the particular building. But the fact that she initially described it as her church--that's a pretty great perception of unity, if you ask me.) She eventually moved to Pennsylvania with her children, shortly followed by her husband. One of her pastors in Korea graduated from our seminary, and recommended it to her. Through various other twists of providence, here she landed.*

She hopes to pass her TOEFL so that she can pursue a degree instead of just auditing. When we asked her what she wants to do, she told us that she wants to use a degree to teach the youngest generation of Koreans who are growing up in America about the Faith, in English.

...

How exciting is that?! And how many acts of God and answered prayers and unique turns of events to bring her to us! ... And this is why I love being in seminary. Because I get to hear stories like that, of how God is at work literally around the world. And share them. =)

And if you think about it, pray that she would pass the TOEFL and be accepted as a student. Because she really is a wonderful lady, and it would be such an advantage to the Kingdom.

*I'm being vague in the post on purpose. I don't trust the Internets, so I don't like to give out the personal information of other people.

hymnody

A great video from the Gospel Coalition, talking about why we the church sing hymns today. Give it a viewing.

Old Hymns for Our Day from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

a glimpse of Zion

Last evening, I had the opportunity to hear R.C. Sproul preach at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC. It was the first talk in a series of three, but unfortunately that will have been my only attendance.

(A side note: Apparently Sinclair Ferguson (head pastor of First Pres.) and RC Sproul are old friends. Which means they both ragged on each other quite a bit before the actual sermon began. ... It was kind of hilarious.)

Sproul taught from two Old Testament texts, Amos 8:9-14 and Hosea 4:1-6. Both of these texts speak of the anger of God towards his covenant people, for their lack of desire for knowledge of Him, and the ensuing famine of his Word that God laid upon his people. It was a powerful message, a challenge to churches today to spend more time (or place more emphasis on) proclaiming the Word of God, that the bride of Christ might grow in her knowledge of God, and so desire God, and through that desire the things of God, more deeply. It was a challenge to our generation, to pursue a knowledge of God, that this famine we are facing might be ended.

Yet perhaps the most powerful moment of the service, for me, was not in the midst of the sermon.

The entire evening was organized like an actual worship service, and the sanctuary at First Pres. was PACKED...I'm talking every seat (including the balcony and choir loft) full, people sitting on the stairs leading up to the balcony, and people standing along the sides and in the back. The capacity of the sanctuary is 1250 people, which means there were MORE than that present. And why does this make a difference?

Before Sproul's address, we all sang a hymn he had written for First Pres., for their bicentennial celebration. It is entitled Saints of Zion, and the final verse and chorus are as follows:

The church of God triumphant shall in that final day

Have all her sons and daughters home from the well fought fray.

Then come, O saints of Zion in sweet communion wed;

The bride awaits her glory: Lord Jesus Christ, her head.

There was something transcendent about standing in that beautiful, old sanctuary, with 1250+ people, singing in one loud, unified voice of the future of the bride of Christ. Knowing we'd all be singing together again, surrounded by even more than those saints present, in the presence of the Almighty. I tell you, I was filled with such shalom...I truly felt I had seen a glimpse of Zion.

lessons on lament

I read through the book of Lamentations (in entirety) today, for what I think is the first time.

...I was moved.

If you've never read through it, you really should. Probably right now. I won't be offended at all if you quit reading this post to go read it. Mainly because I wouldn't know, but also because I think you'll get more out of reading Scripture than reading my blog. (I know, how humble of me, to admit that reading the Word of God is more beneficial than reading my rambling thoughts.) (Also, if you're not catching the sarcasm here, re-read it with that in mind, please.)

There were three things that particularly struck me in reading through Lamentations: 1) The despair displayed/the author of its cause, 2) What's actually being lamented, and 3) The hope inexplicably (except not really) squished right into the middle.

1) I wonder if those who only believe in the warm fuzzy god of rainbows and sunshine have ever read Lamentations. Or if they have, what they do with it. Because there is simply no way to get around what this book of the Bible is saying--the entire second chapter expounds on how "the Lord has swallowed up without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah...he has withdrawn from them his right hand in the face of the enemy; he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around." (2:2-3) The author clearly is in despair, and he clearly knows from whence his suffering comes: it is from God.

And what a despair it is! 2:11 says, "My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out to the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babies fain in the streets of the city." The speaker here is so consumed with anguish that he is physically ill. There are much more poignant verses than this, even.

2) But what is so distressing? Is it the physical suffering that Israel is being put through? No. For we find in 3:39-42 the true thing being lamented here: Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven: 'We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven.'

This particularly struck me. In the time of the destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem, in a time of such severe persecution, such a departure from the former glory of Israel that it is described as women actually boiling and eating their own children (v. 4:10, I don't know if this is a metaphor or what was actually happening, but regardless, the state of Israel is clear here), that all this despair and devastation is not the worst thing. To the author, forsaking the love of God is by far more lamentable than any physical affliction.

This lead me to consider, how often do I pray for deliverance from my circumstances, instead of examining my heart and praying for deliverance from my flesh, for repentance? A hard question.

3) Hope. In chapter 3, after admitting personal responsibility for such trials and the justness of God in his wrath (1:18), and then discussing at length the results of such wrath (ch. 2), the author breaks forth in extolling the love and goodness of God.

Wait, what?

I have to admit, I have quoted 3:22-23 for years, as a comfort to my soul. I had never checked to see its context. I was astounded. How can one speak with love for God after truly understanding and acknowledging such suffering as coming from his very hand?

To sum up my response to this whole book, I think the answer lies in repentance and humility. The author clearly realizes that the responsibility actually lies with the nation of Israel, with God's people. When we do not love God as we should, he chastises us. Yet this is for our good, because God truly is a God of love. And when we see how deeply we have wronged such a very good God, who has patiently and lovingly called us to him time and again (see ALL the prophets), we will truly lament our sin. This does not exclude lamenting our circumstances, and crying out to God for deliverance from physical suffering, but it cannot be separated from an understanding and abhorrence over our sin. And when we truly understand this, we can remind ourselves, as does the author here, that indeed God's "mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (3:22-23).

...one final thought: Note that the hope comes in the middle. The author does not end on a high note, but rather with uncertainty. ("Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old--unless you have utterly rejected us, and you remain exceedingly angry with us.") I am grateful that this book ends this way; for the Christian life is not a steady climb upwards in our awareness of our sanctification. There are times of hope and times of uncertainty; it would be false to think that there will never be another time of doubt after hope has been enjoyed. Praise God that he shows us in his word that this is not abnormal, that we might cling to this example as assurance.

procrasticrafting

The title is a lie. I wasn't procrasticrafting when I made this. (But I am procrastiblogging...)

This past Sunday, I combined a Pinterest idea with an idea from my boss's family and an old college practice. I used to write out Bible verses on notecards with colored sharpies and tape them to my bathroom mirror. I haven't done that in a while, for a multitude of reasons. But one of them was because it never looked nice. (Now I'll admit, I don't have the greatest handwriting, so that was part of it. Plus I was using colored sharpies. Really, self? What were you thinking?)

Anyways, I took a picture frame I got for Christmas, put some saved tissue paper in it, got out my dry erase pen...and voila!

I wrote a line from Henry Lyte's hymn "Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken" (one of my favorites) on it this evening (so maybe I've been procrasticrafting after all...), but the great thing about this is that you can change it whenever you want, but it always looks nice! At least a lot nicer than 3x5 notecards and colored sharpie...

Now every time I brush my teeth, I can ponder the words and be encouraged. Winning.*

*Clarification: I am NOT quoting Charlie Sheen here, but rather a friend from college who started saying that in 2006, at least. I have a video to prove it. I just want everyone to know that.

poetry and robbery

Fun fact of the day number one: Apparently there are advantages to having your RUF girls over until midnight, and then having to stay up even later to finish some work for grad school. Namely, having multiple cars in the driveway and lights on even later keeps your house from getting robbed along with the house across the street.

Fun fact of the day number two: I've begun a class on the Poets of the Old Testament, which I think I'm thoroughly going to enjoy. Mostly because I had forgotten how much I like poetry.

Fun fact of the day number three: Speaking of poetry, and sanctification (which, okay, I wasn't speaking of it, or writing of it, but it's been on my mind for the past few months), I was recently reminded of a poem that I wrote the summer before my senior year of college, while going through a bit of spiritual drought during a month of studying abroad in Italy. I ended up putting music to it, with my dear friend Madison, and we turned it into a song. But here's the original poem, which is just as accurate today as it was when I wrote it, despite being in a very different place:

Oh, how sorrowful it is

To look upon my sin

I peer into my soul and see

There’s naught but black within

But spy that light, so pure, so white

Though it be faint and dim

Rest, and know that it will grow

And in the end, will win

For darkness is but Satan’s snare

A tool to make me blind

He feeds me lies in hopes that

Around my heart they’d wind

Yet ours is strength as saints we claim

A stronghold keeps us fast

My Saviour dear will keep me near

In safety from my past

Life is constant remolding

In the refiner’s fire

But I can have full confidence

My God will never tire

He will not stop until I’m done

For his ways never fail

He’s faithful yet and works for good

I know he will prevail

I will not fear where he leads me

Though pain is sure to come

I am his; he’s chosen me

My heart he has won

Behold his son has cleared my name

Renewed me with the dawn

I’ll boldly come in strength and trust

I say to him lead on