The Book of Jennysis

I don't blog anymore

2010-09-16T06:20:00.000-07:00

Thinking about deleting this thang.....

Wish List

2009-11-01T19:09:00.000-08:00

In honor of the commencement of my birthday month (and to keep up the wish list tradition) here's my random list of things I think would be cool to get. In no particular order, my wish list:

-Gift certificates (iTunes, Red Robin, Old Navy, On The Border, Starbucks, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Ross, Barnes & Noble, movie theater, etc)
-Massage
-Flowers
-Diet Dr. Pepper with limes
-A mixed CD with your favorite music. I love mixes!
-A cake decorating class
-New battery for the MacBook
-A 52 inch flat screen TV
-A trip (Washington DC, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Hawaii, Europe, India, South Africa, etc)
-A cheesy picnic in Lions Park
-Homemade card
-Dove Dark Chocolate
-Oil change
-Batteries
-CDRs
-One of those packs of like 30 different colors of Sharpie markers
-Hair cutting scissors
-Clarinet reeds (Vandoren size 4)
-Elixir strings for guitar (medium/light)
-Cash
-A pick up for my guitar
-Djembe
-A piano
-Piano lessons
-Digital slr camera
-Zoom lens for camera
-Gum
-Trip to Graceland
-Schlitterbahn tickets
-Cubs tickets
-Fluffy warm socks
-Funny salt & pepper shakers for my collection
-Lok lak
-Old Navy jeans
-Cake decorating things (bags, tips, etc)
-Mint Melano cookies
-Jamba Juice!
-A good football
-A good baseball/bat
-Tennis raquet
-Wakeboard
-An orange julius
-A really large blank canvas
-Mary Kay anything (call my sis!)
-Trip to the art museum
-Trip to the science museum
-Trip to the history museum
-Chips and salsa (you can't go wrong)
-Simple diamond earrings
-Wireless mouse
-Shoes, shoes, and more shoes
-An air freshener for my car
-A dance party
-Going dancing
-Swing/ballroom dancing lessons
-A new Oklahoma hoodie
-Biolage shampoo and conditioner
-Tools (seriously)
-Febreeze
-A broadway/off broadway show (Hairspray, Lion King, Rent, The Producers, etc)
-Taramuharas
-Dwight Bobble Head
-Bobble Head Stoops
-Watch battery
-Extension cord for Mac plugs
-New glasses
-Special K vanilla almond cereal
-Sweet tea (McAllisters or Cain's)
-Guitar picks (light)
-Spice rack
-An elliptical machine
-A good concert (Dave Matthews, David Crowder, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Justin Timberlake, Bon Jovi, Adele, Sarah Bareilles, etc)
-Horse and carriage ride
-Scavenger hunt
-Banana pancakes
-Grande Chai Latte from Starbucks

Done and done!

Shameless Plug: OU's Advanced Programs

2009-10-05T12:01:00.001-07:00

(Yes, the title of this blog post sounds lame. I'll try to make it as fun as possible.)

Want a graduate degree in something like Economics, International Relations, Human Relations or Communication?

Want to go to grad school but you have to work 40 hours a week?

Want a graduate degree without having to go to class several times a week, every week?

Want to have flexibility with your class schedule and not be restrained by semester time commitments?

If you said "yes" to any of the above, then you should check out OU's Advanced Programs! This program is designed for people who work 40 hours a week, are single parents, are in the military and have to travel, and for those who can't/don't want to commit to going to class every week for an entire semester.

Yes, it's true. I tell people about AP and they are shocked that they can get their Masters degree by doing weekend classes. It's flexible. It's really fun. You get the same degree as all the people going to class all week during the year.

I'm in the Human Relations program. It's sweeeet! This is how it works: One 3-hour class meets on Friday night, Saturday during the day, and a little bit on Sunday for two consecutive weekends. That's it. So I find a class I need to take and enroll in it at least 30 days before the class starts. I get my syllabus online whenever I want, get my books, and maybe write a paper or two before class meets (it tells you everything you need to do in your syllabus. Here's my syllabus from my summer class. This class is apparently the hardest class in the HR program, but it was easy.)

I love this program! I met a lady who got her 36 hour HR degree in about 10 months. She took back-to-back weekend classes while working full time and she was done.

Oh and I forgot to mention: the application process is a cinch. No GRE. No prereqs, just an undergrad degree. No letters of recommendation. They make it simple because they want people to get their graduate degree but understand that the people they are reaching out too are really busy working full-time, serving our country, raising their children, etc.

I've gotten a couple of people to get in the program already! You should check it out. Click here to see the degree options.

Shameless Plug: Qdoba

2009-09-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard, Qdoba has tacos for 99 cents every Monday! I don't really know how much they usually are, but they must be more than 99 cents normally. Nevertheless, it has proven to be reason enough for me to eat tacos every Monday for the past month with Anissa. The odds are you will find me there next Monday!

Anyways, these tacos are good. And cheap. That's my shameless plug.

An Update

2009-08-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

My blog has been calling my name for the past few weeks. So here I am!

I'm in a good place right now. God is so good! He provided a job for me that I really love. For those of you who don't know, I'm the new "BSU secretary." If you call me at work you are sure to hear my phone voice for which I get made fun of a lot. I'm working on sounding like me when I say, "Baptist Student Center. This is Jenny." It's hard to break the phone voice.

I realized the other day that I have had seven (7) jobs since I walked the stage last May. SEVEN. Since becoming a college grad I have jumped from job to job, not because I got fired or quit necessarily. The circumstances were weird, for instance I worked at the state capitol during the legislative session. I'm a good employee, I promise!

These situations have had some purpose, which I am now seeing. God's put some people in my life recently who needed some encouragement in this area. Also, this is exactly the type of thing we'll be going through as Shift Class of 2010 (shameless plug), so I'm thankful for my erratic employment statuses.

I'm excited for the things to come! In my heart I sense something big around the corner, something God's prepping me for. If I didn't know Him, I don't know who/where/how I'd be today! Can I get an amen???

He's Just Not That Into You

2009-02-07T21:26:00.000-08:00

He's Just Not That Into You tells the stories of a group of interconnected, Baltimore-based twenty- and thirtysomethings as they navigate their various relationships from the shallow end of the dating pool through the deep, murky waters of married life, trying to read the signs of the opposite sex... and hoping to be the exceptions to the "no-exceptions" rule.
Gigi just wants a man who says he'll call-and does-while Alex advises her to stop sitting by the phone. Beth wonders if she should call it off after years of committed singlehood with her boyfriend, Neil, but he doesn't think there's a single thing wrong with their unmarried life. Janine's not sure if she can trust her husband, Ben, who can't quite trust himself around Anna. Anna can't decide between the sexy married guy, or her straightforward, no-sparks standby, Conor, who can't get over the fact that he can't have her. And Mary, who's found an entire network of loving, supportive men, just needs to find one who's straight.
If you've ever sat by the phone wondering why he said he would call, but didn't, or if you can't figure out why she doesn't want to sleep with you anymore, or why your relationship just isn't going to the next level.. he (or she) is just not that into you.

That synopsis comes straight from the He's Just Not That Into You movie website, and it's appropriate that it does not use any "feel good" language in describing this film. Sure, I laughed at parts, but as the credits rolled and we shuffled out of the theater I could not shake an whelming feeling of hopelessness. This movie may be realistic in the sense that the girl doesn't always get the guy (or vice versa), but it only highlighted the ever-increasing complexity of relationships today.

This story is driven by Gigi's growing understanding of men, how they think, and how they show a girl that he is interested. She doesn't get it. She makes a fool of herself to keep the attention and affection of a man who may only wants her for a little bit but really isn't that into her. Gigi is only looking for the right guy- to find love- and luckily meets a guy friend who coaches her through men's "complex" signals. The humorous truth of women overanalyzing every detail of a date while men remain straight-forward drives this plot past the limit to the point of confusion and hypocrisy.

The depiction of marriage was really confusing to me. In a span of two hours the film depicted marriage as a dreaded death sentence, a wonderful completion to a longstanding relationship, and worth throwing out the window because of boredom. I didn't get it. One message Hollywood sends in this film is that if you fall in love with somebody (what does that even mean anyway?) it doesn't matter what it takes to secure them, even if that means ruining a marriage. In giving advice to Anna (Scarlett Johansen) who likes a very married guy, Mary (Drew Barrymore... who also produced this film) tells Anna something along the lines of (I try to quote), "How could you come across the love of you life and have to pass him up because you are already married?" Unbelievable.

Anyway, I don't want to ruin the plot for those who want to see it- it's a "cute movie" and entertaining. I was unimpressed with the messages this film sent because I know there is more hope than that- than wondering if you are the rule or the exception to the rule, than calling your marriage quits because of mistakes, or than having your whole love life hinge on if you can interpret a guy's not-so-straight-forward hints. Hollywood has made things OK that shouldn't be, and we shouldn't accept its interpretation on life.

If you've seen it, let me know what you honestly think. Maybe I harbor too much negativity towards it, but then again I'm just ranting!

25 Random Things

2009-01-26T20:54:00.000-08:00

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I love school. I plan to go back this year and get a Masters degree.

2. I met Dustin Diamond (Screech from Saved by the Bell) at Frontier City when I was younger.

3. God blessed me with a knack for languages- it's easy for me to pick up a foreign language, and one of these days I plan to be fluent in one!

4. I rarely stick to recipes... I like to make my own stuff up!

5. I learned to type from hours spent on AOL as a young teenager. Thanks to chat rooms and instant messages, I can type 87 words per minute (take that, Mavis Beacon!)

6. I have a vivid dream almost every night. It can get pretty exhausting. A lot of times these dreams are very scary, but sometimes turn out well (one time I woke up with a good idea for a book).

7. I want to write a book based on this dream I had one time.

8. "Don't Stop Believin'" is one of the best songs ever!

9. Japanese Cherry Blossom is the best scent at Bath and Body Works right now, in my opinion.

10. Recycling... it's something I need to get better at.

11. The F9 key on my laptop is quasi-stuck, which is interesting because I don't think I've ever used that key.

12. I'm competitive.

13. I think the Twilight series is really great, not because of Stephenie Meyer's writing but because of the intricate fabric of the story. Trying to explain the story to someone is really difficult for a Twi-hard because it's almost like explaining the details of one of your friends lives- there's too much to be comprehended- you just have to read the books to understand, to really know the characters. AND I think Ms. Meyer should finish Midnight Sun (Edward's version of Twilight) and publish it. Don't punish the fans, Stephenie!

14. I wished people still danced... like real dancing- swing, waltz, tango, etc. I think nowadays people put too much weirdness into dancing. It's OK and fun to dance with a friend and it mean nothing more than that. Maybe I'm just old school, but ladies and gentlemen should dance.

15. I've saved every note of encouragement I've gotten and they are in a box in my room. When I'm down I read one (or 20) and the Lord encourages me through them!

16. One of my goals is to go to every continent before I die. Three down, four to go. As a 24 year old I think I'm going at a good pace!

17. I'm trying to work on what/how I talk about things. God has brought Ephesians 4:29 up to me a lot lately, and I'd like to honor Him in what comes out of my mouth.

18. Reading biographies is fun! God has used books like this to shape and encourage me. When you read a biography, you can get so much wisdom and help from someone who has been down a road. It's like being discipled by them! One of my favorites right now is Isobel Kuhn. But at the top of my list would definitely be Corrie Ten Boom- what a lady!

19. My family is really fun and... loud. It's normal for us to quote movies in normal conversation or to burst into song in public at the drop of the hat. I thought that was normal for families until my friends have hung out with the fam and told me otherwise.

20. I wish I had a degree that would enable me to get a job.

21. Music runs in the family. All of us can sing or play something. I learned how to harmonize from my mom, who would always sing the harmony to every song on the radio. My ear got used to it I guess, and so I give her the credit!

22. I'm not a fan of texting. OK, well I think texting is fine if it's something like, "Hey, we are going to see a movie tonight. Want to come?" Having meaningful conversations via text is not cool, because I can't tell your tone (communication major here!) and it would be much faster to have the conversation the old-fashioned traditional way, by actually talking. Maybe it's the old school in me...

23. I want to be out there on the front lines, liberating people with my music!
Not really... movie quote.

24. Didn't this note used to be called "16 random things"? Who upped the anty to 25?

25. My fam is going on a cruise again.. January 2010. Caribbean. You should come.

2008-11-11T16:51:00.000-08:00

I love birthdays! In fact, mine is on Sunday. If you haven't guessed already, I am not one of those shy people when it comes to having a birthday. People, I turn 24 on Sunday!!! Jyeah! So in the spirit of birthdays, I've decided to post a new and improved wish list (I edited my last one- God was really generous to me since writing that one!) So here goes, in no particular order, my wish list:

-Bread machine
-Puppy!
-Gift certificates (iTunes, Red Robin, Old Navy, On The Border, Starbucks, Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Ross, Barnes & Noble, movie theater, etc)
-Massage
-Camcorder
-A makeover for my room
-Flowers
-Diet Dr. Pepper with limes
-A cake decorating class
-Awesome speakers
-A 52 inch flat screen TV
-An oversized poster of Atlantic City (just kidding, I'm only quoting a movie)
-A trip (Washington DC, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Hawaii, Europe, India, South Africa, etc)
-Dove Dark Chocolate
-Oil change
-Tires for my car
-Batteries
-Rechargeable battery pack for my camera
-CDRs
-One of those packs of like 30 different colors of Sharpie markers
-Hair cutting scissors
-Clarinet reeds (Vandoren size 4)
-Elixir strings for guitar (medium/light)
-Cash
-A pick up for my guitar
-Djembe
-A piano
-Piano lessons
-Digital slr camera
-Zoom lens for camera
-CO Bigelow Cinnamin Mentha Lip Shine (available at Bath & Body works)
-Gum
-Trip to Graceland
-Schlitterbahn tickets
-Cubs tickets
-Bearclaw boots- 410, black, size 10
-Fluffy warm socks
-Haircut
-Funny salt & pepper shakers for my collection
-Loc lac
-Old Navy jeans
-Cake decorating things (bags, tips, etc)
-Mint Melano cookies
-Jamba Juice!
-A good football
-A good baseball/bat
-Wakeboard
-An orange julius
-A really large blank canvas
-Mary Kay anything
-Trip to the art museum
-Chips and salsa (you can't go wrong)
-A Wii
-Simple diamond earrings
-Wireless mouse
-Shoes, shoes, and more shoes
-A vacuum
-A steam cleaner
-An air freshener for my car
-A dance party
-Going dancing
-Swing/ballroom dancing lessons
-One of those Oklahoma hoodies that are different colors. The light blue one.
-A cruise
-Bean bag
-A large amount of cookie cutters
-Biolage shampoo and conditioner
-A chi (hair straightener)
-Tools (seriously)
-Water purifier pitcher thing
-Febreeze
-A broadway/off broadway show (Hairspray, Lion King, Rent, The Producers, Wicked)
-Taramuharas
-Dwight Bobble Head
-Bobble Head Stoops
-Watch battery
-Extension cord for Mac plugs
-New glasses
-Special K vanilla almond cereal
-Sweet tea (McAllisters or Cain's)
-Guitar picks (light)
-Spice rack
-Rolling pin
-An elliptical machine
-A good concert (Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, David Crowder, Coldplay, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Josh Groban, Bon Jovi, etc) OH MY GOSH I'M SEEING COLDPLAY FOR MY BIRTHDAY! SWEEEEEET!
-Horse and carriage ride
-Scavenger hunt
-Banana pancakes
-Grande Chai Latte from Starbucks

You should post a wish list on your birthday, because I think they are fun to read.

Direction

2008-09-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

So for about 6 or 7 months I've been tossing the idea around about going to grad school. I'd love to get an education or a counseling degree, because I'm passionate about both of those things and I think I'd be good at it. The decision is looming out there, but for some reason God has decided to put the decision on hold until now... again. Now it's been brought back up in my life and I have to consider it even more, and I really want to do this. A good friend gave me wise advice this weekend, and he didn't even know it. He told me that if you really want to do something, you would just do it. Seems so simple.

Some breaker in our house blew out today. There were random rooms without the lights working. When we flipped the breaker back, the lights blew out.... in the bathroom. Of course there were no extra light bulbs to be found, so there is our bathroom.... lights out and no hope for light until someone makes a trip to Wal-Mart for bulbs. Well, I really needed to use the bathroom to get ready for bed. I would have to shuffle around in the dark trying to put toothpaste on the toothbrush right and wash my face without being able to see my face.... So what to do? I walked in the bathroom and did it all in the dark. If you really want/need to do something, you would just do it.

Weird analogy, I know. But God gave it to me at the right time. Even though there are questions in the way of this decision, if I really want to do this, if GOD wants me to do this, I would just do it. So I'm just going to do it. And if doors close on me along the way, I can rest assured that it all had to do with this journey God has me on.

One of my favorite quotes:

I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: 'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.' And he replied: 'Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.' "- M.L. Haskins

(I didn't even plan this quote with the whole bathroom story. Oh it's so perfect!)

Falling....

2008-06-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Into place. That is what life is like right now. I just got a new job yesterday! Praise God. The job is here in Norman (no commute!) and I'll be making more than I do now, so I'll be able to be an adult and start paying off my student loans! This is what you can look forward to when you graduate as well. I start after I get back from my trip.

Speaking of trip, I leave tomorrow! I am so excited to see some friends of mine and see the old stomping grounds. I really love this part of the world and it's a huge blessing to be able to go back a second time around.

Welp, I'm off to pack. I'd write more, but there's this huge storm happening right now and I'm afraid our power (and thus our Internet) might go out.

Peace!

Ready to Run

2008-05-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

I leave for SE Asia in 6 days, and I am sooooo ready to go! God was really good to bring in all the financial support I needed, and I'm excited to see the country I fell in love with last summer. I'm also excited to see some friends who live there now and bring them some fun things they need.

Classes at OU

2008-04-13T19:12:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm sitting here blogging when I have an assignment due. In my last semester at OU I do not like, nay, I loathe every class that I am taking right now. I'm not exaggerating. There have always been one class I haven't liked each semester, but this one takes the motherload. I really despise my online Volcanoes and Earthquake class (otherwise known as Shake and Bake). The good part of this class was that we didn't have to buy a textbook. Instead, the prof posts all of his notes on the class website. We take exams online. This is the reason I don't like this class. We have 50 minutes to take a 50 question exam over TONS of material. For this last test I probably had atleast 75 pages of printed notes over the intricate magma-producing processes and different types of continental crust. I have tried to understand this stuff, but some of it I cannot wrap my mind around. Anyway, I cried during the last online exam, because everything I studied was not on it, so I had to trifle through all my notes for almost every question.

There are classes that I've liked a lot at OU. Besides classes like concert band, I have had a few fun classes. Freedom in Greece was pretty incredible. Dr. Fears has mastered this history and is a genius! I really liked this class because he not only presented a rich and detailed history of Greece but he helped us as individuals to make practical applications to our own lives and the state of our country today. That is a mark of a good teacher- taking something foreign and making me understand it in the context of my own life. I recommend Dr. Fears' classes.

One thing cool about college is that in the 5 years I have attended OU, I NEVER had to check a book out from the library. With the exception of getting a book from the reserve desk because I didn't want to buy it for class, I've never had to get a book from there for a source in any papers or projects! It's amazing that one can graduate from a prestigious institution such as the University of Oklahoma without having to step foot in Bizell.

Anyhoo, what were your favorite/least favorite classes in college? I'm curious to know!

Processing

2008-03-23T00:13:00.000-07:00

I'm really awake after a crazy day of Duck Pond/broken Dollar Movie movies/Waffle House/a crazy game of NERTS. Yes, our neighbors called the cops on us for being loud while playing cards. I have to admit, we did scream a lot (you understand this if you know the game NERTS) and it was quite comical the rest of the night thinking about what would have happened if they would have cuffed one of us and taken us in for the night just for getting a little zealous with a friendly round of cards. I'm scared to think of what other things our neighbors have heard come out of our house over the course of this year. Oh well, I don't feel too bad because we've definitely called the cops on ALL of our loud neighbors at some point this year, so I figure we're even now.

Anyhoo, Glorieta Spring Break was fantastic. I would have to say it was the best Glo conference I've ever been to... and I've been to 6. I just think it was so pertinent to me right now because God really broke my heart and confirmed that I could possibly spend some more time overseas. Before, my attitude was, "OK God, I'll go wherever You want," but now it's more like, "God, PLEASE let me go overseas!" There are a couple of obstacles standing in my way right now, but God is good and He provides.

But I'm definitely seeing how these really tough situations are turning out for good. God has freed me in many ways and has shown me that I'm set aside for Him alone, and He'll take away anything that gets in the way of that. I want to be on Plan A, meaning I want to walk in obedience and choose to follow Him so that I don't mess up His ideal plan for me. So I've turned around and started praising God for taking some things from me, though it hurt, and I'm completely free from them now. I see the good in it all.

At Glorieta we learned about the persecution our brothers and sisters all over the world go through every single day. And I think it's tough here! I was convicted about letting myself be shut up and not taking advantage of opportunities to make Christ known, because those under persecution are not shutting up at all. I don't want to give up in freedom what they won't give up in persecution! Wow. My God is good and completely worth it. I want to believe that with my life.

And here's another thing. I'm not so sure about this "call" to missions. Jesus already told us to go (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8, etc) so why do we think that going to the nations is any different than choosing where to spend our lives in the US? Some say that God hasn't broken their heart for the nations. My question is whether you really have a broken heart about the lost. I had to ask myself that question, and if I'd be willing to go anywhere or do anything for the sake of those who do not know Jesus. "The needs of the lost always exceed the needs of the witnesser." Yeah, I would, because Jesus is worth atleast that much, and that's not a lot. Giving up some time, money, a chance to advance in a career, the comforts of American living, etc isn't worthy to take the place of Christ going to the ends of the earth.

I'm sure of these things. I feel like I'm on the cusp of something, and I'm really excited. Praise God for the what He's doing in my life, even through the hard stuff, because it's for a bigger purpose. I couldn't be more content in who I am or what I have. I am more in love with Jesus and looking for ways I can please Him. God showed up during my last spring break as a student at OU and He spoke very clearly to me. I'm sad if you missed out on this conference but know God had you where you are for a great reason.

That's a bunch of random thoughts at 2 in the morning! Night!

Yeah-heah

2008-03-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

I bought my cap and gown today then tried it on at the BSU and did a fashion show in it (sanguine, I know!!). I can't wait to walk that stage and kiss class goodbye!

On that note, I have no motivation for school anymore.

I feel like I need to post a video to liven my boring, melancholy blog up. This is one I've passed around to a few people in the past couple of weeks. I still think it's hu-larious!

Countdown

2008-02-28T21:48:00.000-08:00

16 days until Glo
37 days until my best friend's wedding!
72 days until graduation
98 days until Southeast Asia

I like countdowns. I wish I had some countdowns for other things because I wish I knew when they would happen, or even IF they'll happen. *sigh* I wish I could have it all mapped out, but I can't. That's why I'm reading "Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion?" by Bruce Waltke. You should read it, too, if you're frustrated at having to make decisions and trying to take it upon yourself to "find God's will for your life."

I really can't wait to get out of school. Currently I have a bad bout of senioritis and keep forgetting I'm in 2 online classes, not to mention my two normal classes are like the worst ones I've ever been in at OU. Oh well, this too shall pass.

This has been a tough year. When it rains, it pours. I have a lot to be thankful for, and I need to keep reminding myself that things might get better and that there really is a hope for me. I'm living for that hope everyday. I've always been able to put on a happy face even when I'm really down, which can be a blessing and a curse. Sometimes people can't see that I'm really hurting, and I miss out on encouragement because I don't know how to express that yet.

I feel like Debby Downer here! Life's been good to me despite some hard knocks these past couple of months. I couldn't have gone through it without Jesus' constant, consistent, never ending, patient and perfect love. And I couldn't have kept going without my brothers and sisters being beside me. I value that so much! When I look at this awful and sinful world around me I can praise God for pulling me out of it, though I'm still a part of it, and keeping me steady in His plan. Wow. I wonder what it's like to live without that and I can't bear to think where I'd be had my sister not told me about Jesus. Thanks Amy!

Why can't I have a goal for after graduation? It's like I'm lost in this dark wilderness of options that I don't want. I don't even know what I'm good at. What should I do????

We totally watched "Lord of the Flies" because I'd never seen it nor read the book in school. It was saddening, especially when they broke/took Piggy's glasses! I almost cried!!! And then they killed him and that's when I lost it. I can't believe they've let kids read that book in schools. Do you remember reading "A Wrinkle In Time"? That was a freaky book too!

I love American Idol this season. Though I was hoping for the chubby girl to go far (she was voted off at the first week), there are still some singers I really want to win. I love David Archuleta (sp?)- he has the most pure and toned voice out of the group. My least favorite is Danny Noriega. I've dubbed him "Skinny Jeans" because he wore skinny jeans at his audition and he is just ridiculous.

Anyhoo, I have to have $600 paid by next Friday for me to go to SE Asia! Woah, this should be interesting.

I'm done being random. Van Dyck, out!

Fix You

2008-02-24T19:04:00.000-08:00

Man, do you ever hear a song you've heard a billion times but this one time you listen to it, you can just relate like never before? That's how I feel about Coldplay's "Fix You." I listened to it a lot this summer when I was overseas. I kind of hesitate to say that, because when you're serving overseas you should only listen to or be encouraged by worship songs, right? (sarcasm) But this song is really heartfelt and sometimes I think I could have written it (not comparing myself to the brilliance of Coldplay, just saying those thoughts could have come from me.). Anyways, I heard this last night and wanted to tell Chris Martin that I totally know what he's talking about! So here are the lyrics:

Fix You

When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse?

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home,
And ignite your bones,
And I will try to fix you.

High up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down on your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down on your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Here's the video if you've never heard it:

*sigh* What a great song.

Fantastic V-Week!

2008-02-16T10:45:00.001-08:00

It's been interesting to hear what people think about Valentine's Day- some love it, some loathe it, and some think it shouldn't even exist (refer to my V-Day post from last year). Well, I LOVE V-Day. We get to celebrate LOVE, and as a follower of Jesus I want to celebrate the greatest LOVE I've ever known from God. It's a good reminder of all He's done for us, and even if we don't have "that special someone" to dote on us all the sweet things that come with V-Day, we can rest assured that we are loved with a Perfect Love that endures forever. How cool!

I really thought I would not enjoy this holiday this year. God is so FAITHFUL! I was encouraged tremendously all week in some of the most unexpected ways. About a third of my "Things that make me happy" list happened, and it was all from the hands of my Great God. He knew what I needed- to see that my hope is in Him and that He uses His people to bless and encourage each other so we can keep serving Him. This V-Day took my eyes off of myself (which is hard to do on this day if you're single!) and put them on Him, because He came through in the ways that I needed Him to, and abundantly beyond what I thought He would do.

I'm thankful for my brothers and sisters who encouraged me this V-Week. It was cool to experience my brothers in Christ serving us gals and treating us like daughters of the King. What a blessing!

31 Things That Make Me Happy

2008-02-12T07:29:00.000-08:00

I took Amy's challenge to write about 30 things that make me happy. Well, I decided to do 31. Here goes:

1. Any sort of words of encouragement- a card, on my blog, Facebook, phone call, etc.
2. Flowers
3. When guys open doors and let ladies go first
4. Spending time with Jesus
5. Singing in a band
6. Dinner and a movie with friends
7. Surprises!!
8. Visiting Amy/Dan/Tygre in Fort Worth
9. When friends come hang out in the bookstore with me
10. Late night conversations
11. Driving with my windows down on a sunny day
12. Being free
13. Going on cruises with the fam
14. Seeing others grow in their walks with God
15. When people get to go overseas
16. Live music- it's always better
17. Dancing
18. Seeing prayers answered
19. When you talk to someone and figure out all the people you have in common with them and can say, "What a small world!"
20. Football game days
21. Walking to class with a friend
22. The beach
23. Speaking another language and the person understands what I'm saying
24. Learning new things
25. Reminiscing
26. Cooking
27. When I get to see another part of the world
28. Knowing I am taken care of
29. Talking with friends who are far away on iChat/Skype!
30. When I quote a movie and someone else responds with a quote from the same one
31. Haircuts

What are 31 things that make YOU happy???

Moving On

2008-02-10T13:05:00.000-08:00

I hate change. I really do. It takes a lot out of me because I'm a really sentimental person. The smallest thing can remind me of something great that happened or something I went through or something someone did for me, etc. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really fear moving forward because what if it's not as great as everything I just went through?

For instance: college. It really has been THE time of my life... so far. I've had soooo much fun and God's shaped me into a very different person than I was before. I've gone places I've never been before because of college- Miami, New Orleans, Chicago, New Mexico, Cambodia, etc. There have also been many firsts that I experienced here that I am so grateful for. God's given me fantastic friends that I will have for a lifetime. He's drawn me closer to Himself because of the different faith times He's taken me through. It's been challenging, hilarious, scary, comfortable, uncomfortable and great overall. I still want that, but I can't have it anymore because my five years is almost up.

So it's time to think about the next thing. I have no idea what my plans are when I finish school in May. I'll just get this one out there- I've applied to grad school so I can pursue a teaching career or maybe even go into ministry. But I still don't know if that's what the Lord wants me to do. My other option is to stick around Norman, but I don't have job prospects as of now. My mind changes itself just about every other day. I wish God would be clear about HIS vision for my life so I could make decisions right now, but I will just have to wait. The thing is not to make decisions based on fear. I cannot fear having a lame future compared to the last 5 years of my life. I cannot fear making a mistake. God holds my life in His hands and is big enough to clean up my messes. But more than that- He is sovereign. Everything that happens to me has to pass through His hands first; He is in control. And I cannot put God in a box and try to make sense of all of this difficult stuff that's happened recently, telling myself that He did ____ for this reason or that.

I am so thankful God led me to OU for my college career. It was a scary decision to make as a little senior in high school, but I can look back now and count the blessings of making that decision. His plan is evident in these pages of my life. I can confidently go forward to the next thing, knowing that He has things in store for me. I can look back and see the great things He has done (or will do) in my life. I'm excited for that!

Speaking of excited, I've told some people, but I'll just throw this out there again- God's opened a door for me to go back to SE Asia for a couple of weeks this summer! It's crazy how the whole thing came together. A group that is going needed some extra people to go to make the airfare cheaper, so God graciously given that to me. I'll write about the details later. This thing has just been such an encouragement to me during these last couple of month of discouragement. He is good!

Anyhoo, that's what's going on nowadays. Pray that I will be patient until the Lord reveals to me what He wants me to do... and that He'll reveal it!

No words

2008-01-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

I feel compelled to blog since I've been neglecting it for a long while. Actually, I have no idea what I should say. It's almost like I've become the melancholy personality for just a short while- sometimes I am super discouraged and others I am praising God for His goodness. I've been told several times recently that my personality really has allowed me to bounce back from hard things better than other types of personalities. For that I am thankful. I've always had a joyful spirit, and I can't let this crush my spirit.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, I've had a string of hard situations come my way in the past month or so (see previous post). It's not as bad as other things I could be going through, but it definitely counts as trials that take me through the Refiner's fire. I'm confident that God can bring me through these things with a whole heart, and that I will be able to trust Him with my life more. I'm kind of in a place of confusion, change, unrest and just plain not understanding why this is all happening right now. None of this makes sense, and I can't wait until I get through it.

I don't even know why I'm writing this or if it makes sense to anyone. I wish I could explain more, but I'm just going to send this snippet of my heart out into the void in the hopes that it encourages someone out there to keep holding on to God's promises even when times are hard and confusing. Be still and know that He is God (Psalm 46:10). He doesn't withhold good from us (Matthew 7: 9-11). He gives us everything we need (Philippians 4:19). He heals us (Matthew 15:30). He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him (Matthew 16: 24-26). He can do ALL THINGS and no plan of His can be thwarted (Job 42:2). He encourages us when we are down (Psalm 10:17). What a great God we serve!

Through all of this God has opened up some doors for me to things I've never before considered doing. It's pretty exciting to think that some of these things could happen soon, but I can't get into that now. We'll see what happens. Until then, I'm going to go write a country song about my life!

Let's make like Tom and CRUISE!

2008-01-05T21:48:00.000-08:00

I leave for our family cruise in like 6 hours! I can never sleep before a trip so I'm trying to do things to make me want to fall asleep.

Anyways, this cruise couldn't have come at a better time. This past month has been the toughest time I've been through in a while. You know when you have those few weeks when things just keep happening or keep getting piled on you? Well, it's been like that with a stream of incidences that have left me very discouraged. My truck was giving me trouble and when I thought it got fixed the first time it kept stalling on me. So I had to go get it fixed again. This time I'm hoping it worked because it's leaving me scared to drive. Is that just a common girl thing not to want to drive a car when you think you might be stalled out on the side of the road somewhere? If not, this fear could come from this other traumatic in-the-mud incident of mine that I referenced in my previous post. I'll tell you about that when I get back.

On top of that, I've been quasi-diagnosed with a common syndrome among women. Don't worry too much because it is very treatable! Maybe one of these days I'll write about it, but until then I am telling all my girlfriends about it so they can make sure they get tested for it too.

These were the two main difficult things amongst a plethora of other tiny hardships, but God is good and getting me through it! When my car's in the shop, I get bad news about my health, money is tight, or I'm having trouble relating to others, it's like a big nudge to see what God says about those situations and about His character. Really, I like these times, despite the difficulty, because I end up spending a lot of time with the Lord! I think that's true for most everyone walking with Jesus- they draw closer to Him in the hard times. I'm not complaining. I'm just telling you what I'm going through and admitting that it's been really tough. Jesus didn't promise a cakewalk but rather a walk in His shoes every once in a while.

So when you see me, just give me a hug! That would encourage me so much. Until then, I'm going to set sail on the open waters and see some new places and do fun things I've never experienced before.

Yeah Mon!!!

(Exit song cue:
Aruba, Jamaica, oooooh I wanna take you to Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty mama....)

Most annoying thing I've ever done...

2008-01-03T23:23:00.000-08:00

I took the RyanAttack Challenge and decided to blog about the most annoying thing I've ever done. Well, there are plenty but the only one I can think about at 1:30 in the morning had something to do with bottles of sand and hot glue.

When I was about 11 years old I went to the fair with my Aunt Karen and not-yet Uncle Bob, and I think Amy was there too. We went to this booth where you pick a glass bottle and then pour in different colors of sand. Once you fill it up, you pick a topper for the bottle and they glue it on for you. Well, I filled my bottle with sand. Then they took my bottle and I turned around to do something else. When I turned back around I saw my sand bottle and there was this clear thing over the top. I guess I was feeling really impulsive and, thinking it was Saran Wrap, I poked my finger through it. Big mistake. The next thing I feel is searing hot melting dripping-down-my-fingers pain. They had poured a lot of hot glue in the top and were about to put the topper on it when I had to be an idiot and poke my finger through it.

So we go to the ER and they fix me up. My middle finger was bandaged with gauze for a few weeks.

This was annoying for several reasons. First of all, why did I think they put Saran Wrap over my bottle? Secondly, no matter what it was- Saran Wrap or hot glue- why would I poke my finger in it???? And last but not least, every time I showed someone my bandaged wounds I ended up offending them because I in turn flipped them off.

It may sound lame, but to me this is one of the most annoying things I've done to myself..... next to swerving off the highway into mud puddle and driving 9 hours with mud up to my waist. But that's another story for another day.

Peace out '07!

2008-01-01T17:50:00.000-08:00

OK so I feel like I need to do the obligatory "Here's-What-Happened-In-2007" post in order to start out 2008. I like lists because they are easier to read, so here goes with some things that have happened in this past year.

- I got a new job working at the BSU bookstore
- I had another job for like 4 days in my aunt's company
- Two months of my life were spent in Cambodia
- I got to lead a team overseas, which I never thought I could do
- Rode an elephant
- Ate a cricket
- Had a toga party
- Went through some rough doctor's visits recently
- Went to Schlitterbahn
- I experienced my first ever ice storm
- Stopped eating fast food (with the exception of a few places of course!)
- Became an undergraduate TA for the communication department
- Started dating Preston
- Saw some great movies like "Hairspray"
- Went to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl
- I started to like yogurt
- Learned how to convert audio tapes into mp3s (exciting right?)
- I finally got a good scholarship for being Native American
- Moved into a house with 5 other girls
- I did not do the Pride this year
- I thought I would figure out what I wanted to do with my life, but that never happened

Things I want to do in 2008
- Go to more concerts!!!!!! This is definitely at the top of the list
- See Tygre get married
- See Jill get married
- See Lauren get married
- See Allison get married
- Go visit Lindsay and my other buddies in Colorado
- Go on a cruise
- Practice my guitar more often
- Get that ensemble together with Cindy and other people
- Sing!
- Invest in girls' lives
- Print my pictures
- Work out
- Go water skiing
- See Grandma Van Dyck more often
- Get a good job after I graduate
- Graduate!
- Learn piano
- Save money

OK that's enough ambition for me! I hope I can do all of these things and so much more this year! After the craziness of 2007, I wonder what curve balls life will throw at me in 2008.

Happy New Year everyone!

An Emergency Room Christmas

2007-12-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

This has been one interesting Christmas. Right now I'm sitting in the emergency room waiting room with Amy and Dan and a man comforting his in-labor wife while watching the Brian Setzer orchestra perform a jolly rendition of "Jingle Bells" on the Late Show blasting through a cheesy mounted television. Don't worry, nobody got cut slicing the turkey or anything. Dad's suffering from some tingly feet syndrome we feared might turn into something worse if he let it wait until tomorrow to check out. So here we are... Christmas night... in the ER.

I'm thankful though. I could just imagine what other people are going through right now. I know the True Meaning of Christmas and I'm thankful for the Greatest Gift I could have ever gotten through Jesus! I also have a family who loves me and I'm going on a cruise in T minus 12 days, so there's nothing to complain about.

Anyways, I just thought I'd record this moment while I'm sitting here. Hopefully Dad will be OK soon. I'm going to go play Uno.

Cold

2007-12-11T11:36:00.001-08:00

It's still cold here.

Trashy Movies

2007-12-02T11:53:00.000-08:00

This post is inspired by a conversation with my dear friend Allison and the recent viewing of the classic "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye and Vera-Ellen.

I watched this movie this weekend and went away feeling so good about life and Christmas and everything. It struck me that there are rarely any movies these days that can have that same effect on me. 75% of the movies out today are either trashy, inappropriate, riddled with f-bombs or so violent they leave your heart heavy. Why do I put myself through that? Also, I can't think of one movie made in the last 5 years that did not include premarital sex as part of the romantic story between two people (in my opinion, there's NOTHING romantic about sex with anyone other than your beloved and committed spouse). If you can name me one movie made recently that is set in present-day that does not include premarital sex or sexual references, I'll make you some cookies.

And on the topic of violence in films, I think I've become so desensitized to killing that I've found myself cheering for the protagonist when they finally kill their enemy. Now, I know we are not supposed to value evil in this world, but hoping for somebody to die is not necessarily right either. I know it's fiction, but I believe all of the things that we allow into our heads and hearts effect our attitudes and walk with God.

This also goes for language in films. I'm going to be completely honest and say that there have been times since I've been seriously walking with the Lord that I've let a word or two that don't honor God slip out when I've been really scared or something sudden happened or I was just downright frustrated. Those words are in my mind because I've let them in through the movies I've watched. Again, these "little" things can have a HUGE effect on my character.

I don't want to condone values that go against the Word of God. I'm not perfect either. Some of my favorite movies have these elements in them. Some films I love just because of the beauty in them- the cinematography, symbolism, the history or dialogue- which I sometimes use to justify watching despite their shady content. Sometimes I love movies because they have great quotes (The Sandlot, Elf, That Thing You Do, Mean Girls, etc).

Anyways, I'm finding that my movie tastes are changing as I'm losing more and more tolerance for the stuff that's out there. Some of my favorites are these old time movies that had real artists in them- they could act, sing, dance and be hilarious and incredibly romantic all at the same time! Go watch "White Christmas," "It's A Wonderful Life," "Rear Window," or even new movies like "Pride and Prejudice." You'll love them and have more of an appreciation of the Hollywood that deserves more respect than the current one. And feel free to pass on to me any good flicks that are truthful and worthy of watching, because there's always Someone watching us.

These are just my random and disconnected thoughts. What do you think?

Smooooothies!

2007-11-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm a person who gets on food kicks. The latest one is the smoothie, and I have to admit that I think this kick will last for a while. I have a friend who worked at a popular smoothie-chain place who told me what was in them, and after making my own for a few months I've realized how delicious they are. Now I will share this love with you! It's simple! All you need to do is mix up:
1. Juice. I prefer orange juice, but you can probably use apple juice if you like the less tart and tangy types of smoothies
2. Yogurt. I buy the Wal-Mart brand of fat-free, 80-calorie yogurt-- either vanilla or strawberry-banana
3. Fruit. Fresh fruit is nice. However, if you use fresh fruit, you will also need to add ice to the blend so it's not entirely liquidy. The solution is to use frozen fruit. It's way cheaper, especially in the winter when fruits are out of season, and this way you don't have to add ice. My preference is strawberries and pineapples. I even cut up bananas and freeze them for later. This is where you can get really creative. They sell blueberries, raspberries, etc at the store, so go nuts!

Throw that all in a blender and frappe it until it has a nice consistency. Seriously, it can't get any easier. I can make one of these in about a minute TOPS. If you go this route, you will save a lot of money by not buying Jamba Juice, and these are healthier because you know what's in them (at JJ, they put ice cream in some of them, making them not-as-healthy-as-you-think).

I hope you give the homemade smoothie a try.

Until the next food kick,
Jenny

Vacay

2007-11-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

OK, so I totally abbreved "vacation." Sorry for all of you who don't like that. Anyhoo, it's Sunday afternoon and the thought of going to class and work tomorrow is weighing over me like a dark cloud, but not as much as a doctor's appointment I have on Tuesday that might confirm some long-held suspicions I've had about something. But I'll get to that on Tuesday.
For the rest of you students, there's a light ahead! We have one week of class, dead week (which we all agree should be reformed into a completely classless week like the name suggests) and then finals!!! Then there is freedom for a few brief weeks that might mean chilling at home watching "The Christmas Story" a few days in a row and making hundreds of sugar cookies and then going on a family cruise! That will be my vacation. What are you going to be up to?
You should get in the Christmas spirit by coming to our holiday toga party. Fun will be had by all!

Oh The Glory Of It All

2007-11-09T11:36:00.000-08:00

We sang this at Paradigm last night and it brought so much back to my mind about who God is. We actually sang this song a lot at O-week when we were getting trained to go overseas- it was a week where I experienced who God is and learned so much about His heart for the world. This song brought all of those moments back to my mind and it was encouraging to sing about His light and salvation and the fact that we will never be the same. So neat.

Here are the lyrics.

At the start
he was there, he was there
In the end,
he’ll be there, he’ll be there

And After all our hands have wrought
He forgives

Oh the Glory of it all is:
he came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all

All is lost
find him there, find him there
After night
Dawn is there, Dawn is there

After all falls apart
he repairs he repairs

Oh the Glory of it all is:
he came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

oh he is here
for redemption from the fall
that we may live
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

After night
comes the light
dawn is here
dawn is here
it’s a new day
it’s a new day
everything will change
things will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same

Oh, The glory of it all is
you came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all

Oh you are here
with redemption for us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all

My band.

2007-11-02T23:36:00.001-07:00

Tonight I had a hankering to play around with Garage Band. If you have a Mac, you know that this is one of the best applications ever! I've been recording tracks for about 2 hours and my fingers are definitely really sore. Anyhoo, I've been working on Hillsong's "None But Jesus," which is one of my favorite songs right now. My rendition of it is not that great, but it's just fun to record.

Wish List

2007-10-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

This is what Em and I are doing at work today. I've decided to make a list of things that I would really like. Here goes, in no particular order....

-Apron
-Bread machine
-iPhone
-iPhone case
-Case for my Macbook
-Gift certificates (iTunes, Red Robin, Old Navy, On The Border, Starbucks, Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Ross, Barnes & Noble, movie theater, etc)
-Flowers
-Diet Dr. Pepper with limes
-Dove Dark Chocolate
-Oil change
-Batteries
-Rechargeable battery pack for my camera
-CDRs
-Hairspray on DVD (November 20th!)
-One of those packs of like 30 different colors of Sharpie markers
-Hair cutting scissors
-Clarinet reeds (Vandoren size 4)
-Elixir strings for guitar (medium/light)
-A pick up for my guitar
-Djembe
-A piano
-Piano lessons
-Nice digital camera
-Zoom lens for camera
-CO Bigelow Cinnamin Mentha Lip Shine (available at Bath & Body works)
-Gum
-Trip to Graceland
-Schlitterbahn tickets
-Cubs tickets
-Bearclaw boots- 410, black, size 9.5
-Fluffy warm socks
-Haircut
-Funny salt & pepper shakers for my collection
-Loc lac
-Old Navy jeans
-Cake decorating things (bags, tips, etc)
-Mint Melano cookies
-Jamba Juice!
-A good football
-A good baseball/bat
-Wakeboard
-An orange julius
-A really large blank canvas
-Clarinet book of etudes
-Trip to the art museum
-Chips and salsa (you can't go wrong)
-Guitar Hero
-Simple diamond earrings
-Wireless mouse
-Shoes, shoes, and more shoes
-A vacuum
-A steam cleaner
-An air freshener for my car
-A dance party
-Going dancing
-Swing dancing lessons
-One of those Oklahoma hoodies that are different colors. The light blue one.
-A cruise
-Bean bag
-Giant ottoman
-A large amount of cookie cutters
-Biolage shampoo and conditioner
-A chi (hair straightener)
-Tools (I don't even own a screwdriver... sad)
-Water purifier pitcher thing
-Febreeze
-A broadway/off broadway show (Phantom of the Opera, Hairspray, Lion King, Rent, The Producers)
-Taramuharas
-Dwight Bobble Head
-Bobble Head Stoops
-Watch battery
-A wallet that holds checks
-Extension cord for Mac plugs
-New glasses
-Special K vanilla almond cereal
-Sweet tea (McAllisters or Cain's)
-Guitar picks (light)
-Spice rack
-Rolling pin
-An elliptical machine
-Fondue skewers (I already have a fondue pot)
-A good concert (Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, David Crowder, Coldplay, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Josh Groban, Bon Jovi, etc)
-Horse and carriage ride
-Scavenger hunt
-Banana pancakes
-Grande Chai Latte from Starbucks

Dancing pipe cleaner

2007-10-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

I spent like 20 minutes on this at work today. Hilarious!

http://www.davidbessler.com/pulldown/pipecleaner_dance3.swf

Bloggggg

2007-10-15T17:13:00.001-07:00

I wish people still blogged. That was one of my favorite pasttimes- writing and reading other's blogs. Sad day.

Stronger Woman, Softer Heart

2007-10-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

I just finished a great book entitled Strong Women, Soft Hearts by Paula Rhinehart. Don't let the cheesy titled dissuade you from the great treasures inside. It's an awesome read. Written with heartfelt passion, this book dives deep into a woman's heart and makes sense of everything going on in there. As women (especially living in America) we can think that we need one more thing to do or event to add to the schedule. But we lose our hearts in that, and in return we've lost touch with our passions and who we are really meant to be in God. As a Christian woman sometimes I can imagine what my life will be like down the road as a mom or working or traveling the world or whatever, but the reality is that I need to live life NOW. Rhinehart says, "It's strange the way we meander through life, thinking we are moving forward, only to discover that we have left our hearts behind." And that is true. Routine causes me to lose focus on the things I really think God created me for. And I need to take that back each and every day.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"God made our spirit to respond to him- to hunger and desire beyond ourselves that which is wholly other, Holy Other. He made us incomplete- with gaps, holes, yearnings, desires that woo us to our real home. We make a big mistake if we toss our longings away lightly...Do you ever see Jesus accusing someone of wanting too much? When does Jesus rebuke someone for desiring? If anything, you see just the opposite. Jesus actually fanned the flames of desire."

"I have God's permission to live out the truth of who I am- to believe that my desires are not an accident, a mistake, or a nuisance. It is the definition of joy to be able to offer back to God the essence of what he's placed in you, be that creativity or a love of ideas or a compassionate heart or the gift of hospitality. I am convinced that owning our longings and trusting God with those is crucial in bringing the color and music back into our lives."

"Don't you find that when you offer to the Lord the crumpled mess of the dreams you can't make happen-of all you cannot control- what he gives you in its place is a mysterious sense of hope?"

"But accepting the mystery of what we cannot know will lead us to the heart of God where we trade our craving for explanation for a simple willingness to trust."

"To be vulnerable is to voluntarily place yourself, for the sake of a larger purpose, in a situation that could bring pain. You see something at stake- your own spiritual growth or someone else's- and you are willing to risk your heart in a vulnerable way."

"We may be blameless before God, but we can never be sinless- and that is a crucial distinction. The reality of being forgiven means that we, of all people, have the freedom to admit where we are wrong."

"Loving someone is the one venture in life in which the more you succeed, the more you have to lose. It is so tempting to keep your heart in reserve. To hedge your bets seems a reasonable choice in the face of things. But then, whoever said love was reasonable?"

"God doesn't erase fear from the blackboard of our lives. Rather, he grows our souls by the sometimes largely uncomfortable experience of trusting him as we do the thing that's frightening. And we discover him there, in it all. As Joyce Meyer explains, we don't wait until we have overcome fear to move out as God wants us to. Her word of encouragement is, 'Do it afraid.'"

Those are just some tiny nuggets from a great book. Women need to see just how God created them with passion and HEART and not to lose that in the mundane, the scary, the unknown, or even the bliss.

Looking forward

2007-05-09T22:29:00.000-07:00

Sitting in this familiar spot at my desk on the sixth floor of this dorm, I can't help but look back at this year and reflect on the things that God has done for me and to me. Let me tell you, this has been a roller coaster of a year. I've been in numerous situations where I didn't know how to feel, respond, think, or even how to listen to God- situations I never thought I'd be in before. Sparing you the details, I will just say that He is good and sovereign and knows me better than I know myself!

That being said, He deserves so much! God is always faithful. He is always faithful. He is always faithful. I can't say it enough. He is faithful. I can't believe His faithfulness when I have been so unfaithful. Sometimes I like to think about what my life would be like had I never decided to give my life to Him and trust in Him, and the things I think about make me so thankful. Every decision I've made, every conflict I've been in, every relationship I have- they are all centered on what will please Him. Hearing that does not sound like fun or like freedom, two things every human being wants and thinks they deserve. But listening to Him and putting Him first has given me so much liberty and peace in this life. I cannot do without that. It makes me thankful for His guidance and love I could never understand.

One thing I heard earlier this year that I have clutched on to all year was this short poem:

Thou art coming before the King
Great petitions to Him bring,
For His strength and power are such
That you could never ask too much.

I could never ask too much of Him. After all, He is King, and I am a daughter of the King and He wants to give me every good thing! Could I ask for more? I don't think it's possible!!

Anyways, I could sit in this bare room that has nothing left in it from this year- just the things I need to get me through until I move out- and think that I have nothing to show for this year, but I can't let that happen. I am forgetting what is past and looking forward and going toward the prize for which I have been called upward! Let me tell you, that prize is HUGE, and it's worth every bit of this vapor of a life on earth.

This may have been a rant, but that doesn't matter because nobody blogs anymore and probably doesn't read this. I'm looking forward to many things: going overseas, moving into an awesome house, having a great new job, and other things. I have no idea what to expect, which is the best situation to be in, because He is taking care of me. I will leave you with this great quote that I hope rings true in my life.

I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year
'Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.'
And he replied, 'Go into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.'
-M.L. Haskins

Facing the dog.

2007-03-07T22:06:00.000-08:00

For all you Facebook friends I tagged in this, you'll know why I did at the end of this post. I hope you enjoy this.

I realized an awesome truth today as I was spending some time with God. I read in Psalm 71:20 "You, who made me stare trouble in the face, turn me around." and I thought, Wow, that's a really interesting thing to say to God. Then almost immediately a short memory came back into my mind.

My family lived in Seattle for a few years. You wouldn't know it now, but back when I was a kid, I was deathly afraid of dogs. Well, I was about 8 years old, and one day while riding my bike, I came across this huge, beastly, deathly dog! And he thought it would be fun to chase me on my bike and bark madly and insanely at me. So I fly home and run inside screaming bloody murder. My parents were at home and had no idea what could be causing my outburst besides some serial killer on the loose coming after me. When they found out it was about a dog, they didn't just comfort me and say "It's OK." No, I remember my dad taking me back outside where that beast was still hanging around waiting to chomp my arm off! Dad got the scary thing to come over to me, and at this time I was convinced my dad had suddenly turned evil and had a weird desire to harm me by this! But he proved me wrong. Trembling and clutching on for dear life to my dad, I reached out, and at his encouragement, I pet the dog! After a few seconds, that beast turned into a fluffy friend. He licked me and let me pet him and have fun with him. Since that day, I've never been afraid of dogs, but I love them (and the two I have at home!) so much. Thanks Dad!

This reminds me of so many verses about facing troubles and going through trials and doing the hard stuff! God doesn't let you see something scary or difficult or whatever and then just tell you not to worry about it. No, He wants you to face it! He doesn't want us to live in fear. Had my dad never taken me outside to pet the dog, I would still to this day be scared of them. And I had to trust in my dad, that he wasn't trying to hurt me, but help me! He loves me that much!

This can relate to a lot of things in life. I have to raise a huge amount of support for this summer, as many of you have to. Some people don't take chances on their summer plans because they are scared of raising support. That is plain fear! I don't think God wants us to be afraid of money. Yeah, raising support is scary and somewhat difficult. Maybe God wants you to face the scary beast and pet it so you aren't afraid of it anymore. Then you can start to like it, then you'll love it and begin to look forward to more encounters with them. What a cool truth!

So whatever you may be facing, remember that God might want to use it as an opportunity for you to trust Him. He is, after all, the Perfect One to trust and He loves you so much. So go out and pet the dog!

-Remember how scared Peter was when he walked on water? Jesus immediately saves Him and says, "You of little faith. Why did you doubt?"
-There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involved punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. -1John 4:18
-Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. -James 1:2-4

I'm such a fake.

2007-03-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

It's 1:30 in the morning. I am writing a 3-5 page paper over a book I haven't even read. I basically read the introduction, the first chapter, the first sentence of every big paragraph, and the last paragraph of the book. And here I sit, typing up all the knowledge I gained about the Reagan administration, which I never really gained because I didn't read the book. I hope my professor doesn't read this blog. But more importantly I hope I can pull this paper off.

OH SNAP!

2007-02-27T23:03:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've ever posted back to back like this, but I just had to do this one....
I was just perusing the archives of jennyscoolclub.blogspot.com and I was reading my post from April 5th, 2005. (You can read the short post and the comments at this link- you have to scroll down to see it) wrote about Supertropolis- the Christian band that redoes rap songs to be about Jesus- and how funny their songs were. I read the comments, and someone from Supertropolis commented on it!!! I don't know if it was a joke or something, but they were legitimately defending their music. I about died, because I had never read that before, and here almost 2 years later I uncover it. Supertrop, I salute you.

2007-02-27T22:53:00.000-08:00

OK, you know how some people study better when they listen to music? Well, if they are in a quiet library, they can turn on their ipod and it helps them study.
OK, you know how some people study better in quietude? Well, if they are in a noisy place, they have no option to help them study in silence.
I think someone should invent a CD/mp3 of just quietness... like air.. or something. Then if you need some quiet, you can turn on your ipod to the quiet/air tracks and block out all the background noise.
You don't have to tell me, I know this is a great idea. If I were smart I'd patent it and you'd be buying this off of an infomercial in no time!

I finally found it!!!!!!!!

2007-02-16T12:01:00.000-08:00

It happened this afternoon as I was eating my grilled chicken wrap from Block and Barrel. While watching a little television, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized my career choice- nay, my calling, from the tube. It is something that I would enjoy doing and would never call in sick for---
I want to design the games for the show MXC. Yes, it's true. Who wouldn't want to conjure up amazing obstacles like a huge log drop or dodging ginormous fake boulders? I could think up great new stunts to place over bodies of water or foam pits. It would truly be a dream job. Of course, I would probably have to move to some sort of Asian country, but I think I could deal with that. And while I'm working for the show, I could change things up a bit- like making it less inappropriate and disrespectful of the entire female population, for starters.
What do you think? Is it for me?

Single Awareness Day? I think not...

2007-02-13T22:26:00.000-08:00

Welp, it's that day again- the day some dread, the day some dream of. It's Valentine's Day, or as some like to call, "Single Awareness Day." So what?

So what if you're single? Why is that such a big deal? In America alone there exist over 82 million single people. So for all you loners out there: don't get depressed because you are sooo not alone! People, especially our ages, get so emotionally scary on this one day in the year because they do not have some sort of significant other, someone to call their own. Now, I'm not saying I've never had a day when I wished I weren't single, but the propensity for this ides of February to depress millions of people is a little much.

For all you unsingle peeps: Bravo! I'm happy for you, so enjoy today, the day of love, and don't let the single people get you down. In fact, you won't have to worry about them after they have read this blog.

Back to the sad singles out there. As Charlotte said from her Web, "Chin up," which basically means stand up tall and proud and move on. Why avoid this day when you can adore it for all the other people who get to celebrate it with someone else? Why loathe it when you can learn to listen to the love lovers lament to their loved ones? Why dread Valentine's Day when you can deal with it and move on? Didn't Burt Bacharach say, "What the world needs now is love sweet love"? Didn't the Beatles tell us that all we need is love? Sinatra claimed that "love is a many splendored thing"! So why all the hating against those who have it on this day?

I guess I'm OK with writing this because, well, I really like seeing people being loved. Seeing girls at work with bouquets of flowers from their whoevers makes me really happy for them. Watching people go on their V-Day dates is awesome! Go them! If love is true, it's patient and isn't jealous. I know my Father is giving me some flowers today-- He's planted them all over for me, flowers of all kinds and shapes and colors and smells, such a variety of flowers so I can pick the ones I want. What more could I ask for?? And why should I be jealous?

And we all have single friends! Let's get over ourselves and tell them to have a great Valentine's Day!

I love this poem by Shellie Warren. Here's an excerpt from "I'm single and that's all right with me":

What makes you think that my present status is not a God-given
right, a woman's choice and a healthy decision?

Who told you that without a man, something's missing from my
life, and if so, what would that be?

Love?

I love myself, and more importantly,
I love the Lord
He told me when I delight in Him,
He will give me the desires of my heart

Security
I have everything I need according to His riches in glory

Intimacy
Now, how's a man gonna get to know me
when he doesn't even know himself

See, my Father told me that I am above a ruby's worth,
and a gem does not seek, it is sought, so why would I sell myself
out?

No, I'm single and that's all right with me

Girl, as a woman I know it's not my role to chase after any boy
who professes to be a man

Esther 2:14 states that I am to wait on my king,
and when he's delighted in me, he will call me by my name

My Mama didn't name me Needy or Desperate
I am to be cherished, relished, valued, honored
It's not my job to convince him or convict him of that
My mate will already know it and consistently show it.....

I'm single and that's all right with me.

I love that! I'm not a femi-nazi or anti-man. Don't get me wrong, I like the guys, and I would be dandy if I weren't single anymore, but I'm not going to get all hung up on my singleness. Because God wants me to be like that on this one day. And because I know He's holding out the best for me, I can see this V-Day as a celebration for waiting for the right one. And the right one will come looking for me and will really value me, because I am, like God's Word says, a GEM, and deserving of being sought after. And so are all of you.

I hope this wasn't a total cheese fest. It was just what I was thinking at the time. And I'm not pro-single more than pro-not-single. I can't wait to be not single. That's a lot of "not"s.

The Cave

2007-02-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

I've decided to post about something very special in my life. This object of my affection has not only served me and comforted me, but has also surrounded and kept me shielded from harsh life out there. And that thing is..... THE CAVE.

Yes, this is my bed in the back room of our tri-suite. You see, I like it really dark when I sleep, and a lot of light comes through our window. So as you can see, I tucked some blankets under Tygre's mattress, and they completely block out the light! Genius, I know. We affectionately call my nighttime nook "the cave" because of its unique characteristics.

The Cave is near to my heart. It blocks out the light. It makes my bed really cozy and undistracting while trying to fall asleep. It is always a place my roommates hide when I come home so they can scare me. It has also aided me in sneaking out of bed to crawl over the floor to frighten the snot out of Megan when she's trying to fall asleep. Yes, the cave, I owe a lot to you!!!!

Tonight has been great!

2007-02-09T23:55:00.000-08:00

Well, tonight has been great, as the title of this post states. First of all, the Dessert Auction pulled in over $500! With the amount of people there, we expected to get maybe $200. To everyone who was there: You encouraged us a lot! Thanks for coming and giving!
Secondly, we had some amazing girl time at the duplexes. I don't know. There is something about just hanging out with a bunch of girlfriends that really refuels my tanks. Don't get me wrong- I like boys! But when it's a bunch of girls in pajamas watching cheesy movies about dancing and then dancing ourselves, there's no real need to put on a front or pretend to be someone you're not. Believe it or not, but girls act WAY differently around guys than they do with all girls. It's amazing the vast differences. This might just be me. I am such a people pleaser that I can be very hard on myself for stupid things. But tonight, I was myself. I acted like an idiot, danced my favorite moves, and was just Jenny in front of people I knew would love me no less. There's something neat about that for a sanguine....
Thirdly, I have a cream cheese caramel apple pie sitting on my desk waiting to be devoured. This was not the best time for me (and you Felicia!) to give up sweets. I have an insatiable sweet tooth that I have to get under control.
Lastly, God is good all the time! I can't really explain here the things he has been telling me lately. I know I may not show it at all, but this last week has been really confusing and difficult and kind of like a "hello God! Are ya hearing me here?!" week. But He's answered my prayers when I shut my mouth long enough to listen to Him. I'm sure had God not made me super-optimistic about life, I'd show negative emotions more. Oh well!
Anyways, it is 2 a.m. and I have no idea what I'm really writing about right now. I'm kind of drained from this week, and to tell you the truth, everything (schedule-wise) is about to get nuts! I'm so glad for Matthew 6:33-34 because I can seek His kingdom first and everything else is added to me, AND I don't have to worry about tomorrow! What a cool promise!

Blogging for blogging's sake

2007-02-08T23:01:00.000-08:00

I'm really trying to keep this up. I remember the old days when all my friends would update their blogs regularly, and people would check each others regularly. I remember when comments were common, when writing and ranting were random, when posting was pleasurable, and when opinions were out in the open (sorry, I'm working on my writing...).

I can't really think of anything to write about, so I'll write the first thing that comes to mind. *Looking around the room* OK there is a family picture on the wall right by me. I wish I had a copy on my computer so I could put it up here. In words, the 5 of us aren't in the typical family-portrait layer, with mom and dad in the front while the kids rest their hands on their shoulders and stuff. No, Dad is in the back looking off into the sky with a look of "oh no we're being invaded by aliens!" Amers of course is stanced in the middle hanging on Dad and looking shocked. Mom is kind of in her own little world with the laugh that you know she is about to start crying because this is so funny; she's also giving Matt bunny ears. Matt has a look of extreme pain on his face because my fist is in contact with his right cheek. In retaliation, he grabs my throat in an attempt to strangle me.

That is my family.

I love this portrait, taken in the JCPenney portrait studio, because it really does capture our personalities. Most family pictures do not really allow their family's true colors to shine through. You can see the Van Dyck chemistry all over this!

I used to think we had a pretty normal family, that is, until I started hearing about other people's families (with exception of Megan Traynor's family!). But I guess at one point or another we all realize that our families are somewhat along the lines of, well, just plain "weird."

I'm going to have to shout out to my parents right now though. They have always been the coolest! All of my friends would tell me they were cool parents. We never had curfew. They trusted us. They gave us responsibility and expected us to be independent. I've done my own laundry since I was 5 years old! Things like that make me thankful now, because I consider myself to be a very independent person. I don't think I'll baby my kids because my parents didn't, and, in my opinion, we all turned out OK!

Anyways, Clark and Liz never put ridiculous expectations on us. They never punished us for bad grades because they knew we try our hardest. They never compared us to each other or made us earn any love or extra privileges. When we failed miserably (which, all of us have), they have helped us out. And I think the most important thing about them is that they have always put their kids before them. My mom works 2 jobs to put us through school and is sacrificing years she could be putting toward a master's degree to get us through school first. My dad takes care of my needs (car, money, and the best hugs I could ask for!) and has always defended his kids against those big bad bullies in this world. They really reflect God's love to me.

Anyways, our house may be constantly loud when we're all home. We may make fun of each other excessively and have our dramas, but I wouldn't have them any other way! I love the Van Dycks!

I wish my parents read this. Then again, maybe I should just tell them....

This has been so encouraging!

2007-02-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

I love Charlie Hall's music! This one I have been listening to non-stop for a few days now. It is oh so good. I've gotten obsessed to the point of trying to get it to sound good on guitar. Enjoy.

Come for Me
Charlie Hall

Jesus come take me away,
I long to see Your face
This world is broken yet beautifully made,
Jesus come take me away

Jesus I’ll patiently wait,
till like a vapor I’ll fade
Help me fulfill all your dreams for these days,
Jesus I’ll patiently wait

You’ll come again with a shout,
like a thief in the night you’ll come riding on clouds
Finally the voice I have followed for life
has a glorious face that is lit up with light

And you’ll come for me,
No more pain, peace,
No more fear, release
just lost and consumed with my glorious King
And you’ll come for me

Jesus today I am tired
I need your music to come and inspire
I give myself to be refined in this fire,
but Jesus today I’m so tired

Come for me

I am so different!!!!

2007-01-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

I put this old family picture on here to display how different one can become as they mature. I'm the one in the pink dress.... no, the blond one in the pink dress. Anyhoo, I am very different than I used to be. I am still me, but different for one very good Reason. Read on...

This weekend was really challenging. I went to the Spring Retreat with John and Helen Crawford, and I wish all of my friends could have gone. God was there! He showed me a lot of this about myself that I really like to change. The Crawfords talked about renewing our thought patterns and what the Word of God can do for you.

This blog is called "I am so different" for many reasons. The first being that I am not who I was anymore! When I accepted Christ, He took up His home in me. Why He wanted to do that, I don't know. I have nothing to offer Him, but I have something to offer the world now, and that is the knowledge of the saving grace of Jesus Christ! He has called me to set my mind and heart on things above, to renew my mind, to put off the old and put on the new, to yield to God. I was never like that before I became a Christian.

Anyways, have you ever walked away from a conversation or situation wondering, "Why on earth did I say that?!" or "Man, what I did was really stupid!"? I didn't know if that was a sanguine thing or not. Sometimes I get caught up in trying to be fun that I can say some stupid/sarcastic/mean things and walk away regretting that or thinking that people noticed and think differently of me. I can relate to some John Mayer right about now:
"One more thing
Why is it my fault?
So maybe I try too hard
But it's all because of this desire
I just wanna be liked
I just wanna be funny
Looks like the jokes on me
So call me captain backfire."

Well for a couple of years now I have been trying to watch the things that I say. Last year it was gossip. Proverbs 26: 20 says, "Without wood a fire goes out;
without gossip a quarrel dies down." This year it was sarcasm. Proverbs 26: 18-19 says, "Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death, so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'Was I not joking?'"

I went to the Ladies workshop about being clothed in righteousness. Cindy and Lindsay did a great job! I came away with that with the resolve that I want to be a woman who understands that her words can give life or they can give death. Research shows that women speak on average 30,000 words a day (compare that to men at 15,000!), so I need to choose my words wisely! I want Joshua 1:8 to be true in my life, that the Word of God does not depart from my mouth. I want all the words I want to say to be filtered through the Word of God that is on my mouth! Neat!

This post is titled as so because I was perusing through some old blog archives. These things date back to my sophomore year! Reading them, I couldn't believe some of the things I said, not that I cussed or anything, but the way and what I've talked about has changed a lot to me. At times I couldn't fathom me saying some things! I realized that this prayer I've had for years to change my mouth, that I thought I hadn't changed or worked hard enough at changing and was failing at, was really being answered! Thanks to God, my mouth is steadily changing to glorify Him. I am nowhere near perfect, but He is perfecting the good work He started in me (Check out Philippians 4:6!).

Welp, this has been a long one, and I learned so much more this weekend, but I'll save that for later. And I'm sure that nobody blogs anymore or even reads this, but if you do, holler!

A new Norman band! Check them out!

2007-01-25T22:27:00.000-08:00

It's happened.
We've started a band.
It's called......

COUCH 6.

Original, eh?

Check us out at http://myspace.com/couch6.

There's only one song on there we recorded really fast. More to come.

Random blog

2007-01-21T20:48:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling kind of melancholy tonight. I don't know why, but it's really random. Maybe I've been listening to too much mellow music lately or something.
And speaking of mellow music, I've listened to Jason Morant's "Love Song" about 20 times in a row just now. It's great. Here are the lyrics.

"Love Song" by Jason Morant

Where can I go
Where can I run from You
You're everywhere

You know all my thoughts
You see through my ways
And still You come to me
And so I sing a love song to You
And so I sing a love song to You

From Heaven above
Earth down beneath
Your love rains down on me

You know all my thoughts
You see through my skin
And still You come to me
And so I sing a love song to You
And so I sing a love song to You

You walk on waves
You run with clouds
You paint the sky for me to see
Your majesty
Your majesty is why I sing

And this is a love song for You
And this is a love song for You
And this is a love song for You
And this is a love song for You

You walk on waves
You run with clouds
You paint the sky for me to see
Your majesty
Your majesty is why I sing

Yes it's all for You
In my life a love song to You
In my life a love song to You
Everything I do
In my life a love song to You
In my life a love song to You
In my life a love song to You

This song is on his Myspace page. Check it out at http://www.myspace.com/jasonmorantmusic.

Anyways, I'm liking this song a lot right now. I think I get myself down a lot of times for the dumb things I do. But God knows it all and still chooses to love me and have a relationship with me. That is so cool! He sees everything and knows everything. That is unconditional love. Well, that is actually REAL love, when you love and don't expect anything else in return! It's exactly what 1 John 4 talks about. I tried to pick my favorite line out of this song, but they are all great. Please check this song out because you'll be blessed by it!

Ahhhhh Christmas break!

2006-12-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

Welp, it's been nice to be home for Christmas break for more than a week. Unlike past years, I don't have to work over the break but can stay at home and do typical stay-at-home things. I sleep in everyday, watch TV, see friends, etc. Let us not forget the constant eating out at restaurants and watching as many movies as possible. This year I have my fun friend Maria hanging out with the Van Dycks. She's German, so putting these things together means her having to tell my Dad the German word for everything and us having to listen to him try to insert these words into as many sentences as possible. It cracks me up. It's been really fun to have her here with us!
Anyhoo, Christmas is around the corner and this house will be full of people soon. I love the chaos when the fam gets together. I think I have one of the funnest families in the world, but I'm sure everyone thinks that about their families. Right now I'm finding chords and lyrics to Christmas songs that we play/sing on Christmas Eve.
I don't really know why I'm typing this all out. I'm sort of sitting around waiting for the UPS guys to get here with my brother's presents so I can stash them upstairs for mom/santa. I'd post pictures of everything we've done so far, but I forgot the chords for my camera. So yeah.

Anyways, in honor of the holidays, I will leave you with this. It was actually featured on YouTube for reasons I can't explain. I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't make it all the way through. But it's hilarious and extremely sad at the same time, and I'm sure it was filmed somewhere in Oklahoma because of the presence of some OU shirts, making this sadder. I present to you: Christmelicious.

The most important thing about me....

2006-11-12T11:54:00.000-08:00

Go here

9:52 a.m.

2006-11-11T11:36:00.000-08:00

Cozy in my canopy bed, I hear my familiar "Victory!" ringtone. Puzzled, I fumble around my bed to grab it, open it up, and see that my friend Elisabeth is calling me. I didn't answer because at that moment it dawned on me the huge possibility that I had overslept and was late to Pride rehearsal. Sure enough, it was 9:52 a.m. 9:52?!?!?!?!? I fell out of bed, grabbed my Pride attire (which I thankfully set out the night before, woke up my roommates with the ruckus, and dashed next door to see if Felicia was awake. Seeing her door open, I was shocked that she hadn't performed the usual game-day ritual of whoever-is-up-first-call-the-other-person. As we saw each other, she yelled "I just woke up too!!!!"

AHHHH!
I don't think I'd ever gotten dressed that quickly. With not a look in the mirror or having brushed my teeth, I grabbed my jacket and clarinet, and Felicia and I dashed out the door, slipping on the wet floor (I'll get to that explanation later), hearing the maintenance people yelling for us to slow down, calling our section leaders to tell them what happened, hauling it down 5 flights of stairs, and breaking into a brisk run in a very freezing morning all the way to the stadium.

In a total of 8 minutes, I don't know how we made it to Pride before the whistle was blown. With cramping legs and growling stomach, I marched through my last home game day rehearsal completely in a daze. What had happened???

Well, at about 5 o'clock in the a.m. last night the residents of Couch were alerted by the calm voice of the intercom man to make it downstairs because of a fire alarm. Groggy freshmen and the few crazy upperclassmen (including myself), wrapped in blankets and with sleepy eyes, ventured across First Street to camp out in the bottom of Walker. Apparently through word of mouth we found out about someone on the 11th floor setting of the sprinkler system, which in turn flooded the elevators and stairwells all the way to our floor on 6.

About an hour and a half of sitting on pool tables and discussing whether or not we had time to make it to Crossroads and back before they allowed us in, the friendly staff allowed us to make our ways back upstairs. Herding a couple hundred of people up one stairwell was quite interesting, and we finally made it back to our flooded-elevator-lobby floors.

It took me a good hour to fall asleep because I was starving, which made rehearsal so hard because I never got to eat breakfast. And I had only been awake a good 10 minutes before rehearsal started, so I never had time to get used to the idea of it being game day and yadayada.

Anyhoo, stories like this make days like today memorable. It's also quite challenging to know that I can make it out of bed, change, and get to the stadium in a dash under 10 minutes.

What I think about......

2006-11-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

Ever felt tired? Ever felt like your to-do list is becoming so full that you soon lose motivation to conquer it? You ever feel like you signed up for too much and wonder what state of mind you were in for thinking you could get it all done? Ever feel like you just want to give up? Yeah, I'm feeling that way too.
I have counted up the total pages I have to write for one class:28. Twenty-eight pages of papers/journals/project, in a matter of 3 weeks. But it doesn't end there. I have a speech to write and memorize. There's countless pages to read. Then there are finals. And to top it off, when will I fit that in this ridiculous schedule? Some days I go from 8 in the morning to 11 at night.
But this isn't a complaint. It's a challenge. I think in moments like this, when I'm pondering where on earth I will find the time to get things done, that I have an extreme peace from God. I honestly do not know how I could have gotten through this semester (and some really difficult past ones) without Jesus Christ. Did you know that I have the same power in me that Jesus had in Him when He rose from the dead? I have that death-conquering power in me!! Because I have trusted in Jesus to take the penalty of my sins, I have His Spirit LIVING in me! If God's power could take crucified and buried Jesus and bring Him back to life, then surely He can help me with all of this school work I have to get done. Praise Jesus for that power.
I am in awe of what He can do. I say this is a challenge because I have to trust God to get this done. I have to make a choice to harnass that power Jesus had by obeying God. And He will conquer my schedule. He will shatter my frustrations and stress. He will give me the peace that transcends all my doubts and weaknesses. God will overcome!
Thanks to God, I have the most powerful power.
Do you?

I'm bringing blogging back.

2006-11-05T13:18:00.000-08:00

OK, I completely forgot that I had a blog. I used to post on it pretty regularly, back when my computer's internet worked. Anyhoo, I sort of discovered it today after coming across someone else's blog where my blog was tagged in it. Then it dawned on me that the last time I blogged was this summer, and that's a shame. I enjoy blogging. I enjoy commenting on blogs. I enjoy getting comments on blogs.
And you know what else? I browsed through a lot of blogs, and nobody's updated for quite some time. I know I'm not one to talk, but people, we need to start being faithful bloggers again! I am constantly encouraged by the things people blog about, and I don't do a good enough job telling them. There have been key blog entries that I remember from years ago. Let's revive the blog!!!! Who's with me????
(I realized that I said "blog" 12 times.... and I now realized that I actually went back and counted....)

Yay for videos!

2006-08-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Welp, I really wanted to put some more Chicago pictures up, but I'm feeling kind of lazy right now. So the next best thing is a video! And this one's great because it's the 7th inning stretch at Wrigley Field! You know what that means.... take me out to the baaaalllllll gaaaaammmmeeeee....

Here We Go Again

2006-08-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

After countless hours of working out this past week I have found some new motivation to exercise. OK Go, you inspire me.

We're havin a heat wave... a tropical heat wave.

2006-07-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well, most of you will have been hit by the extreme heat wave blazing across the nation. We Jimmy John's marketers felt it today as we walked around residential neighborhoods for hours in 100 degree weather. At one point we look down and Lindsay noticed that the tar in the road was melting and forming liquid bubbles in the pavement. If I had an egg, I would have cooked it.
Stay cool everyone. I'm going to go sit by the fan now.

Pictures!

2006-06-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Chicago this far!
Here on your left you will find some of the leaders hanging out under the St. Louis arch. They said this picture wouldn't turn out, but it did!
And on your left you can see me hanging on for dear life on the arch itself!

Yeah, we gals had a lot of stuff to move in! We were tired! Here's us with random kitchen things the first night on Lindner 5!

And down there I am standing outside Chicago- the view from the Lincoln Park Zoo!

.... a walking picture in Chicago during leaders week..... and down there are the guy leaders looking fly. That's right. I just said "fly."

Mmmmm... the first social- bags of burgers. Can life get any better? I submit that it cannot!

Ummm this computer is messed up. But there will be more to come!

Chicago!!!!!

2006-05-27T14:14:00.000-07:00

Well, here's a really ridiculously small picture of the girl leaders in front of Chicago! We made it safely and more pictures will be coming soon!

Ready to go....

2006-05-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

Here I am, sitting in the middle of my floor in the duplexes typing my last blog of this semester. I leave for my summer in Chicago tomorrow morning. This is my last night at the Duplexes. The last night of Norman (for a while atleast). There are people talking about O-week in the other room. I just had dinner with my Project Group from 2 years ago. I am stoked about the summer. Everyone is going separate ways to the ends of the earth, but the cool thing is that we're all connected throughout the summer. So for everyone who is leaving on their amazing trips, I'll be in that suitcase with you with prayers. Love you all. Goodnight!

Sigh

2006-05-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

The wedding was great. I just pulled 77 (yes, I counted) bobby pins out of my hair. Goodnight!

The Van Dyck's are coming!!!!!

2006-05-07T19:44:00.000-07:00

In the midst of the chaos of finals and moving out, I have one ray of hope: my fam will be in town this week. In celebration of the Hay Wedding, the fun family will be reunited... and it feels so good.

Here's a preview:

The parentals

Brother Matt will play!

And Dan and Amy will be married! (random picture, I know)

Then, we party. I can't wait to have fun with everyone after this grueling week is over. Good luck on your finals!!!

I'm in love.

2006-05-03T12:30:00.000-07:00

These pictures made my heart smile. It might just be a girl thing.... or a girl who works at a preschool thing.... but these are still cute.
And of course, this was in an email from my dad, who said, "This is what I'm doing to my grandchildren!"

The 102nd Dalmation... and the cutest

This is the only friendly snake out there, children.

Yes!

I love this one... although it kind of looks like those "Those We Don't Speak Of"s from "The Village" but oh well! He won't bite.

Hahahaha, this kid looks so confused... or like she's fake-smiling.

Heheheheheeheheheeheheheehee
Oh-Em-Gee he looks like Jerrett! Who's with me?!?!

AWESOME! Maaaa-su-way-nee-yaaaa... it's the circle of liiiiiiife!

This kid reminds me of someone I know.. I just can't pinpoint it, and it's driving me nuts!

sweet

I could eat this kid...

OK what is this? The closest thing I could think of was a wildebeast or however you spell it.

It's a blast being a crocodile!

Yes! What kid doesn't like hanging upside down?.... in a bat costume and chewing thier wings, nonetheless!

Awww she wants a hug!

My favorite is the lion... but that might just be because I have a crush on chubby little boys.

Forwarded emails from Dad

2006-05-01T13:51:00.000-07:00

I usually abhor getting any email with "Fwd:" in the front, but my dad's passing-ons I tend to enjoy. Here are two that I got today. Thanks Dad!

Forward Number 1:

HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT???

This is so funny that it will boggle your mind. And you will keep trying it at least 50 more times to see if you can outsmart your foot. But you can't!!!

1. While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction!!!

I told you so... And there is nothing you can do about it.

Make sure you pass this on to your friends... They won't be able to believe it either!!!

And sure enough, I did do it about 50 more times. Good one, Pops!

Forward Number 2:

OK listen up! As every southerner knows it's time to get ready for that all important cooking technique of the south---outdoor Grilling! I have found several stores (not just in the south) where you can get a FREE Bar-B-Q Grill! This is not a joke. You can get a free BBQ grill from any of the following stores:

A&P
Albertsons
Costco
Food Lion
Fry's
Kroger
Big Lots
Brookshire's
Safeway
Target
Wal-Mart
Winn-Dixie

I especially like the higher shelf which can be used for keeping things warm!

Just make sure to get a metal one...the Plastic one's don't do so well when smokin a pig!

Who can't appreciate that?

Short update for the limited-on-time-age

2006-04-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

Update update update

Busy week

Update update

Spring banquet was great.
Pictures to come soon.

Update update update

Two weeks of school left

Update update

The Look Alike Theory is totally true and guys are dumb because they can't see OBVIOUS correlations between dating couples

Update update.

I have to go write a speech that was due last week now.

I have a ton of German homework and this is what I'm doing...

2006-04-16T20:31:00.001-07:00

Welp, lunch at Tarajumara's today sparked a question in my head. The single mariachi guy played La Bamba (not to mention playing Macarena for our white table... AND making us sing "Heeeeeey Macarena!" at the end of every chorus....) and I wondered what the words really were and what they meant.

La Bamba - Valens Richie
Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesita una poca de gracia
a Una poca de gracia para mi para ti
ya Arriba y arriba
ay arriba y arriba por ti sere
Por ti sere
Por ti sere
Yo no soy marinero
Yo no soy marinero
Soy capitana
Soy capitana
Soy capitana
Bamba la bamba
Bamba la bamba
Bamba la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesito una poca de gracia
a Una poca de gracia para mi para ti
ya Arriba y arriba

Para bailar la bamba
Para bailar la bamba
Se necesito una poca de gracia
a Una poca de gracia para mi para ti
ya Arriba y arriba
ay arriba y arriba por ti sere
Por ti sere
Bamba la bamba
Bamba la bamba
Bamba la bamba

But I took French and German and do not know what these mean. So what do I do? Naturally I copied and pasted it into an online translator (Warning: Never do this when you really have to write a paper for a foreign language.)

The Bamba - Valens Richie
To dance the bamba
For dance the bamba is needed a little of grace to
A little of grace for my for you already
Up and up oh up and up by you
I was For you
I was For you
I was
I am not sailor
I am not sailor
I Am captain
I Am captain
I Am captain
Bamba the bamba
Bamba the bamba
Bamba the bamba
For dance the bamba
To dance the bamba
I am needed a little of grace to
A little of grace for my for you already
Up and up

To dance the bamba
For dance the bamba
I am needed a little of grace to
A little of grace for my for you already
Up and up oh up and up by you
I was For you
I was
Bamba the bamba
Bamba the bamba
Bamba the bamba

But even after that, I had no idea what it meant! So my friend Goodle helped me out.
"The repeated lyric "Yo no soy marinero" ("I'm not a sailor") refers to Veracruz's marine locale and the male's promise that he will remain faithful to his wife."

"What exactly does "La Bamba" mean? Consider: "Bambolear" means swinging or swaying, and a "bambollero/bambollera" is a someone who likes to boast (e.g., "I'm not a sailor, I'm a captain!"). "
I hope this was as educational for you as it was for me.

Good reminders of God's goodness

2006-04-14T22:59:00.000-07:00

Well, Spring semester is here, and with that comes the scariness for me. I've made so many hard decisions this year that I'm ready to move on... into the summer... into the fall eventually. Today I had a hard time trusting God with things.. with support raising, with the girls in my group this summer, with me this summer, and some other things. I hate this cycle I get into, where I can fully and completely trust God with some things.. then when they aren't working out exactly how I want them to, I back away and run from His promises. Tonight, though, God encouraged and challenged me with one of my favorite songs by Derek Webb:

Wedding Dress
If you could love me as a wife
And for my wedding gift, your life
Should that be all I’d ever need
or is there more I’m looking for?

And should I read between the lines
and look for blessings in disguise
To make me handsome, rich, and wise
Is that really what you want?

I am a whore I do confess
But I put you on just like a wedding dress
and I run down the aisle
and I run down the aisle
I’m a prodigal with no way home
but I put you on just like a ring of gold
and I run down the aisle to you

So could you love this bastard child
Though I don’t trust you to provide
With one hand in a pot of gold
and with the other in your side?

I am so easily satisfied
by the call of lovers so less wild
That I would take a little cash
Over your very flesh and blood

Because money cannot buy
a husband’s jealous eye
When you have knowingly deceived his wife

Derek Webb wrote this ballad about the adulteress bride in Ezekiel 16, showing how we live our lives contrary to what we claim. "So could you love this bastard child though I don't trust you to provide?" hit home with me tonight. The last verse in Ezekiel 16 is a promise, though: "I have forgiven you for all that you have done," the Lord God declares. What a great God!

I am reminded of Hosea

Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Bring her into the wilderness
And speak kindly to her.
-Hos. 2:14

I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice
In lovingkindness and in compassion,
And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the Lord.
-Hos. 2:19

I'm such a girl

2006-04-12T23:24:00.000-07:00

It's 1:30 in the morning. We just watched Pride and Prejudice. There is something about that movie that leaves me in awe of what it means to be ladylike and manly. Just look at how the people treated each other back then. Culture today stinks! Anyways.... we even made cookie dough. I'm not even kidding. We made the dough with no intention of baking them at all. I love that.

Anyways, here are some pictures from some recent ventures.

I was in a wedding of one of my best friends, Jayme. It was beautiful- on the beach, sunset, everything.

We even got to see some high school buddies!!! Reminiscing about band and the ridiculous things we did back then ...... ahhh that was fab!
Dad even taught me how to Foxtrot.

Tod and Tygre even did a lil interpretive dance for us to Sarah McLaughlin's "Arms of the Angels." It was magical.Yeah, these are random pictures from the wedding.

Anyways, we had a fun time sitting out in the back of the truck hanging with friends. I love things like that. You know what else I love? I love driving at night with the windows down. I love the sound of Bible pages turning. I love cancelled classes. I love surprises and the unknown. I love road trips. I love random dance parties. I love my roommates and the hilarious times we have together, especially Tuesday night dinners. I love that one chord in a song that never fails to give me goosebumps. I love it when my kids at work learn how to say my name. I love Friday nights- the night is always young. I love dollar movies. I love drive in movies. I love hearing an old song and it bringing back so many memories. I love bubble gum. Etc.

In the spirit of random, here's the first video I took on my camera. It's the 2-pointer we made at the 2004 Orange Bowl. What a horrible game.

It's late. I'm so glad work is closed tomorrow. Night.

Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married...

2006-04-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

OK that's a total lie. First of all, we're not going to the chapel. We're going to the beach! Secondly, I'm not getting married. My best friend from back home is getting married to a fabulous guy! Jayme and Sam, congrats. I love you 2 so much.
Off to paint my nails! Tomorrow's going to be great!!!

Drain drain go away come again some other day.

2006-03-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

Can life get more emotionally draining? Dear Lord, I sure hope not. The sad thing is that I'm drained by things that aren't even directly happening to me- I'm just associated with them. When something rocky comes my way in the future I don't think I'll have the emotional patience to deal with it. Luckily though, I'm not that sensitive or easily offended, so that day might be far off. I don't really know what this post is supposed to be about. It's not witty or funny. It just is. Because I am just this right now. And I can't explain it.
Sorry to be a bore. It's just all getting really old and really tiring and I can't wait until these things I can't control are different.

Genocide Awareness Project

2006-03-26T20:07:00.000-08:00

It's coming to OU.
It cannot be stopped.
It will challenge college students.
It will bring truth where before there was cover-up.
It will save lives.

I don't really know what that above limerick was. I just sort of made it up trying to sound like one of those movie preview narrator guys.

No but seriously, I just got home from the GAP meeting. The Genocide Awareness Project is coming to OU on Monday and Tuesday and is ready to engage our culture, challenge students, and raise awareness of this genocide that is sweeping our nation. I really don't know what to feel about it yet... I'm nervous, scared, yet extremely excited to see God work. I know He is doing something great through this project, and I thank Him for letting me fight battles with Him. I hope people won't stop talking or thinking about it, that classes will discuss it, that the paper will approach all views of it (for once), that people will be changed by it, but most importantly, that babies will be alive where they were before destined to be killed because of unwant.

Pure awesomeness!

2006-03-24T23:41:00.000-08:00

Mock's Keyboard Debut

2006-03-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

I have no idea when I took this.

Messing around with YouTube

2006-03-19T17:07:00.000-08:00

I love our MT.

The Life of a Public Speaker

2006-03-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am preparing for my tribute speech to Elvis, and it's really exciting. What makes this so special too is the trip to Graceland in the upcoming weeks. It will make my crush on Elvis official.

Whatever

2006-02-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

Don't know what to update, so here's a picture from one of the emails my dad sent me.

Sick.

Finding joy in the small things

2006-02-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

These past weeks have been crazy, but only because I've let them be like that. There was a lot on my plate that I had to deal with/am still trying to deal with. So many "little" tasks need to be done, and the to-do list gets longer and longer each day.

Thursday at Vespers I was really encouraged by Randy Lanthripe's message about faithfulness. God challenged me with that- giving me small things now to develop faithfulness in my life so that in the future He can give me bigger things! That's exciting news, and I'm grateful He starts us out on the small things! The foundation I lay now will be with me my entire life and I want to cultivate things like faithfulness now so that I don't have to deal with/ "chip away at" later on in life. I am so encouraged in the Lord!

Randy also said that when we're under the gun and have no idea how we're going to finish all the things on our to-do lists, when we concentrate on faithfulness to Him first, we can take one step at a time and get jobs done. Hearing that reminded me of those times in life, especially throughout college where God has kept His promise in that! So though there's a lot to get done, I need to focus on my relationship with Him first, seek His Kingdom foremost, and let God guide the next steps. I love having Someone so powerful and faithful to trust my life with!

Anyway, studying at Panera with Lindsay was really encouraging. We talked through a lot of it, got so much behind reading done, and then this random guy came in with this huge harp and started playing. He had this whole posse of groupies with him and I really have no idea what they were doing there. I love things like that. Just out of the blue things that I can really appreciate. But what's more than that is that the first song he played was "Bridge over Troubled Water." Wow! That came from beyond the harpist! God used that song to encourage me, to tell me that He's thinking of me in that moment, in every moment. Thank you Jesus.

Why does "diet" have to start with the word "die?"

2006-02-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

This is the question I ask myself on this day. What a week to decide to start a diet... or a lifestyle change.. or whatever word you want. What am I supposed to do when my roommate has a birthday and get 6 (yes, SIX!) cakes that are still lying around, Secret Saints starts and all my roommates are getting bags and bags of candy, and it's the most stressful week of my semester so far which makes me want to eat lots of Doritos while I study, and it all culminates on Friday with the Dessert Auction where mounds of not just regular desserts, but homemade delights fashioned by so and so's Grandma, are put up in front of me ready to be bought and eaten? Man this week is supposed to be encouraging but Satan is attacking this sweet-tooth! 1 Cor 10:31! A moment on the lips, forever on the hips. These two things I'll repeat to myself when I'm tempted. Sheesh.
"Diet starts Monday!"- Cindy, my favorite Gap Girl

2006-02-01T13:33:00.000-08:00

I tried to think of something with which to update, but I really can't think of anything. I even googled the word "random" (and isn't it funny that "google" is a verb now? I mean, to google... or not to google....) but nothing was too cool. So I'll just leave you with this picture... of a random event that happened not so long ago.

Drunk dialer?

2006-01-20T22:31:00.000-08:00

OK so somebody from my hometown of Corpus just called me and left a message that took a while to decipher. At first I thought it might be a drunk dialer.... but then I thought it might be somebody I know from home just talking funny.... After repeatedly saving the message and re-listening to it 4 times I figured out what they said. It went something like this:
"Hey Jenny. Is your refridgerator running? ..... *silence*... because... if it is youbettergocatchit *all one long slurred word* We love you Jenny!"
OK, did they know me when they called or did they know my name because of my voice mail message? It remains a mystery. If you are this mysterious dialer/dialers, call me back. (And if it's one of my youth, that's hilarious!)

First Day of School

2006-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

Why school is important:

My messenger bag is packed. My schedule is printed off (or just written down for lack of printer). My pens are sharpened. I am so ready for classes to start. Have a Happy Syllabus Day!

Christmas

2006-01-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

So, Christmas is officially over and the decorations begin to come down. So in honor of this holiday season I have prepared a blog-slideshow of the happenings that have.... uh... happened. It begins here, so just sing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" or something else to yourself while scrolling through the pictures.

Roommate time... making cookies that we delivered to the duplexes after a nice flour fight of course.

Ok so my granddad had his company Christmas party and naturally had an Elvis impersonater come on out. This guy was hilarious with his karaoke CD track and dance moves, and was a pro at wrapping one of his cologney scarves around women and serenading them. It was a hoot.

Dan and Elv made good friends! And we got a picture with him too!

Yeah, so Amy, Dan, Buki, and I headed down to our house in the Max-mobile and with all of our presents and my family's presents and then Santa's together we had about 90 something under the tree. It was ridiculous.... what was even more crazy was the amount of spoilage Dan got. I guess he's the new favorite. (wink wink)

Awww parents! Thank you dad for passing on your model face to me. If only I could get it as intense as yours.

Stockings!!!!!!!!
So Christmas day hasn't changed since we were kids, besides the fact that we know the truth about Santa. The same thing happened this year: Amy woke everyone up at the crack of dawn, we picked a spot in the living room where our unwrapped presents ended up for atleast 2 days after Christmas (we didn't want to open all of them before packing up and going), then we ate dad's high cholesterol breakfast followed by a nap and then to the movies! This year we saw "The Producers" and I am still laughing at it. HUH-larious! It was so bad yet so stinking funny and a great touch to an already great day.
Here's a run down of the presents: new acoustic and case, mp3 player, perfume (yesssss), black Converse, CDs, a fluffy pink pillow (Matt said "I saw that and thought of you!" Thanks bro!), a blingin watch from Dan (who also said "I saw that and thought of you!"), a rad dartboard from Amers, gift certs, etc. Oh I also got some white strips to help whiten these things!

Here's the Christmas aftermath:

Then Cottle came down to hang out and do the traditional hibachi run.

Good times.

We bowled...

..... went to the beach....

.... saw Selena... COMO LA FLEUR!

And did other Corpus-y things.
Welp, it took me about an hour to do this, so peace out! Happy Holidays!

Update!

2005-12-24T21:31:00.000-08:00

To make a long story short, we're in Corpus. It's like 80 degrees and beautiful outside. There are about 90 presents under the tree. And it's fun being in this full house again.
Pictures coming soon!
Thirty minutes until Christmas!

Pictures.. again

2005-12-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

Welp, since everyone else is posting it on their blogs, I am too!

Before

After

Yes, it's ingenius, I know!

2005-12-12T19:39:00.000-08:00

PUNK'D

2005-12-04T20:27:00.000-08:00

I just got PUNK'D. I think "somebody" *cough* AMY *cough* knew my password and hacked in and updated because I haven't. $20,000? i wish.
Give your Christmas lists to Santa. :)
Sarah, keep praying. Maybe it will come true!

I WON I WON I WON!!!

2005-12-02T07:57:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I entered into a contest that I ran across while surfing the internet. You know, fill out a survey and you could win a $20,000 shopping spree.

GUESS WHAT?? I WON!

I got $20,000 to spend any way I want! It came in a Visa check card by hand delivered mail.

In the great spirit of Christmas I have decided to buy you all, my good looking readers rad presents so leave me comments as to what you want!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

TURKEY!

2005-11-23T17:33:00.000-08:00

Ahhh the day of giving thanks. I am reminded of that scene at Camp Chippewa in The Addams Family when the large turkey sang "Eat me! I am a turkey treat!....Eat us, hey! It’s Thanksgiving Day! Eat us! We make a nice buffet! We lost the race with Farmer Ed, so eat us, because we’re good and dead! White man or red man, from east, north, or south, chop off our legs, and put ’em in your mouth. Eat me! Sautéd or barbequed! Eat me! We once were pets, but now we’re food! We won’t stay fresh for very long, so eat us before we finish this song! Eat us before we finish this song!"

Anyways,

The tradition of the Pilgrims' first Thanksgiving is steeped in myth and legend. Few people realize that the Pilgrims did not celebrate Thanksgiving the next year, or any year thereafter, though some of their descendants later made a "Forefather's Day" that usually occurred on December 21 or 22. Several Presidents, including George Washington, made one-time Thanksgiving holidays.

Can you believe it? I looked up some Turkey Day urban legends, and it turns out that pilgrims didn't even wear black and white and big buckles all the time! And to make matters worse, they didn't even eat ham, sweet potatoes, or pumpkin pie! What are we teaching our kids these days? We need to start telling this next generation that pilgrams and Indians weren't all buddy buddy and didn't sit at a long table eating ham and cranberry sauce to make peace. Let's bring out the truth.... the truth about colored clothing and belt buckles! Who's with me?????

Have a great Thanksgiving!

(What is it about holidays that nobody updates their blogs/xangas? I mean, I can understand if you're at your grandma's house and of course she doesn't have a computer... but there's no excuse for the rest of you!)

I'm Elmo!

2005-11-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

Everyone has a personality of a cartoon character.
Have you ever asked yourself what cartoon character do you most resemble?

A group of investigators got together and analyzed the personalities of well known and modern cartoon characters.

The information that was gathered was made into this test:
Answer all the questions with what describes you best, add up all your points (which are next to the answer that you choose) at the end look for your results. Then forward this to all your friends (including the person who sent it to you) and change the subject of this message to what character is you.

1. Which one of the following describes the perfect date?
a) Candlelight dinner (4 pts.)
b) Fun/Theme Park (2 pts.)
c) Painting in the park (5 pts.)
d) Rock concert (1 pt.)
e) Going to the movies (3 pts.)

2. What is your favorite type of music?
a) Rock and Roll (2 pts.)
b) Alternative (1 pt.)
c) Soft Rock (4 pts.)
d) Country (5 pts.)
e) Pop (3 pts.)

3. What type of movies do you prefer?
a) Comedy (2 pts.)
b) Horror (1 pt.)
c) Musical (3 pts.)
d) Romance (4 pts.)
e) Documentary (5 pts.)

4. Which one of these occupations would you choose if you only could>choose one of these?
a) Waiter (4 pts.)
b) Professional Sports Player (5 pts.! )
c) Teacher (3 pts.)
d) Police (2 pts.)
e) Cashier (1 pt)

5. What do you do with your spare time?
a) Exercise (5 pts.)
b) Read (4 pts.)
c) Watch television (2 pts.)
d) Listen to music (1 pt.)
e) Sleep (3 pts.)

6. Which one of the following colors do you like best?
a) Yellow (1 pt.)
b) White (5 pts.)
c) Sky Blue (3 pts.)< BR>d) Dark Blue (2 pts.)
e) Red (4 pts.)

7. What do you prefer to eat right now?
a) Snow (3 pts.)
b) Pizza (2 pts.)
c) Sushi (1 pt.)
d) Pasta (4 pts.)
e) Salad (5 pts.)

8. What is your favorite holiday?
a) Halloween (1 pt.)
b) Christmas (3 pts.)
c) New Year (2 pts.)
d) Valentine's Day (4 pts.)
e) Thanksgiving (5 pts.)

9. If you could go to one of these places which one would it be?
a) Paris (4 pts)
b) Spain (5 pts)
c) Las Vegas (1 pt)
d) Hawaii (4 pts)
e) Hollywood (3 pts)

10. With which of the following would you prefer to spend time with?
a) Someone Smart (5 pts.)
b) Someone attractive (2 pts.)
c) Someone who likes to Party (1 pt.)
d) Someone who always has fun (3 pts.)
e) Someone very sentimental (4 pts.)

Now add up your points and find out the answer you have been waiting for! Put your character in the subject line and forward to your friends and back to the person that sent this to you. Very interesting to see "who" your friends are!

(10-16 points) You are Garfield : You are very comfortable, easy going, and you definitely know how to have fun but sometimes you take it to an extreme. You always know what you are doing and you are always in control of your life. Others may not see things as you do, but that doesn't mean that you always have to do what is right. Try to remember your happy spirit may hurt you or others.

(17-23 points) You are Snoopy: You are fun, you are very cool and popular. You always know what's in and you never are out of style. You are good at knowing how to satisfy everyone else. You have probably disappeared for a few days more than once but you always come home with the family values that you learned. Being married and having children are important to you, but only after you have had your share of fun times.

(24-28 points) You are Elmo: You have lots of friends and you are also popular, always willing to give advice and help out a person in need. You are very optimistic and you always see the bright side of things. Some good advice: try not to be too much of a dreamer, if not you will have many conflicts with life.

(29-35 points) You are Sponge Bob Square Pants: You are the classic person that everyone loves. You are the best friend that anyone could ever have and never want to lose. You never cause harm to any one and they would never not understand your feelings. Life is a journey, it's funny and calm for the most part. Stay away from traitors and jealous people, and then you will be stress free.

(36-43 points ) You are Charlie Brown: You are tender, you fall in love quickly but you are also very serious about all relationships. You are a family person. You call your mom every Sunday. You have many friends and may occasionally forget a few Birthdays. Don't let your passion confuse you with reality.

(44-50 points) You are Dexter: You are smart and definitely a thinker. Every situation is fronted with a plan. You have a brilliant mind. You demonstrate very strong family principles. Maintain a stable routine but never ignore a bad situation when it comes.

I'm Elmo! How exciting! This test took like 2 minutes. Who are you?

Happy Birthdays, Harry Potter, and Hurrying Home

2005-11-20T11:08:00.000-08:00

It's been quite an eventful week, but luckily I caught most of it with pictures (like you were surprised). I got about 3 to 4 hours of sleep the last three nights, but it was well worth it. Now I will show you why.

I turned the big 21 on Wednesday! I had a great day, waking up to Amy showing me her "I heart Jenny" shirt, which lots of other girls were wearing that day.

Not pictured: Holly, Vassar, Lindsay W., Britt, and Amers.

They even made me a shirt! No, it didn't say "I heart Jenny"

I heart Elvis.

All day long I got calls, messages, Facebook stuff, and lots of lovin. It was great. After team I got kidnapped by a couple of guys (later I found out it was Beck and Dave... I had no idea....ha) and driven around. While blindfolded in the car, driving around for 30 minutes wondering where we could possibly be going I had narrowed it down to a couple of places when we pulled up to the unknown location. There I was pulled out of the car and led over into a huge mosh pit of girls screaming "Happy Birthday". The blindfold was taken off, and HARK! There was a firepit-mallow-roastin party waiting there! It was so fun! I was so surprised and thought it was great how much fun everyone made it.

Mmmm smores! "How can I have some more of something if I haven't had anything yet?" "You're killing me smalls! These are smores stuff. First, you take the graham..."

Anyways, there are more pictures on Facebook, so check it out. Thanks for the wonderful presents and all the fun everyone made that day. My tanks are so full. I guess I really love words because I am so encouraged by everyone!

So that was one night I got 3 hours of sleep. That partay went really long!

Next day, Thursday, November 17th. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire! I had so much fun with the group that went out to the opening show. We drove out to Quail Springs to watch the movie in one of the 4 theaters.

We had our shirts of course.

But we weren't the only HP freaks there. The place was teeming with crazies.

We ran into Hagrid.

Then we all got to be sorted into our houses. I got in Gryffindor!

Mmm I love Harry. Too bad he has the hots for Cho.

Amy stole his Nimbus 2000. But it's ok. His "Firebolt is in the shop" (yeah, he actually said that)

We even got to shake hands with the man himself: DUMBLEDORE!

We got kind of bored talking to the crazies, so Amy, Beck and I ran through the theaters screaming "18 minutes left". I got that on video though so I can't post it. But know that I have it if you need a laugh.

Welp, the movie started and it was time to enjoy the great year 4 of Hogwarts. I loved it!

Whew that was a long post. Check my album on facebook to see all the pictures.
Now we're in Corpus enjoying time with the fam and I'm looking forward to eating lots of turkey and taking naps all I want!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

2005-11-12T10:35:00.000-08:00

I'm in Arkansas! How fun it is! Dan, Amy, and I drove up (or over) last night, listening to lots of David Crowder and Johnny Cash, to come visit Dan's fam. I like them a lot and we'll be family soon!

Arkansas
(You Run Deep in Me)
Written by Wayland Holyfield

October morning in the Ozark Mountains,
Hills ablazing like that sun in the sky.
I fell in love there and the fire's still burning
A flame that never will die.

Chorus
Oh, I may wander, but when I do
I will never be far from you.
You're in my blood and I know you'll always be.
Arkansas, you run deep in me.

Moonlight dancing on a delta levee,
To a band of frogs and whippoorwill
I lost my heart there one July evening
And it's still there, I can tell.

Repeat Chorus

Magnolia blooming, Mama smiling,
Mallards sailing on a December wind.
God bless the memories I keep recalling
Like an old familiar friend.

Repeat Chorus

And there's a river rambling through the fields and valleys,
Smooth and steady as she makes her way south,
A lot like the people whose name she carries.
She goes strong and she goes proud.

Repeat Chorus

Arkansas, you're in my blood... or atleast you will be in May when Amy and Dan get married and I'm officially a part of your family! Arkansas you run deep in me!

sup

2005-11-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

It's official. We've written our first. Allison and I have a band.

Anyhoo....

Picture Post

2005-11-06T15:48:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a busy last couple of weeks, but fortunately I've managed to capture the highlights with pictures. Enjoy.

Our duplex was bustling with a huge girls slumber party.... probably one of the best dance parties in a while.

We had a great game of Truth or Dare. Go Amy! You were the best Christmas telegram I've seen in a while!

I didn't get a good picture of the guys tying our doors shut or me having to stick cookie dough up my nose and eating it ..... it was a dare!...... Anyhoo....

Ahhhh Homecoming. We had some fun in the sun on the South Oval before the parade.
Me and Tygre jump for joy! Go Sooners!

Go Rita and Beck!

The parade was OK.

We got to see Mock, Amy, Tim, and CoJo dance in it. Great tango, guys...

.... and there was that awesome kid rattail in front of us the whole time..

Welp, then we had this fab retreat at the retreat center.

Complete with "dressing up." Crump you were an awesome Rose from Titanic.

Ahhhh bonfires...

Then we headed to Tulsa for the Shane and Shane and David Crowder concert...

Tygre had to learn the words to Crowder's new CD on the way up.

Shane and Shane singin "Fringes!"

Crowder! "Behold, the Keytar!"

He is a skinny skinny man, that Crowder.....

He was even nice enough to take a picture with the three of us...

So this "stray dog" ended up hanging out with us over Halloween weekend. We named him Killer.

Awww Jacob loves little Killer..... ok so he ended up belonging to these Frat guys across the street and his name turned out to be somethink like Lee Harvey Oswald... yeah, I don't get it either.....

Halloween partay! Funness in the Haunted House.... complete with graveyard...

...Felicia being hit by a car....

.... Dave being a Jack in the Box (he was scarier with the make-up)....

..... and Tim hanging Jacob in the meat locker....

.... and there were other scary things but I can't capture screaming girls (and certain Bryan D's) on camera.. so you'll have to take my word for it.

Welp, it's been real. Leave some love guys!

Roomies!

2005-10-27T14:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we got our pictures back from our recent photo shoot.

Here's our awesome album cover.

Model pic! Nice arm, Amy!

Cheesy candid shot. What on earth are we laughing about?

Jump for Jesus! Allison got the most air in this picture.. I guess she's the most spiritual.. haha

Negative!

Here's one for all you big-sunglass-haters!

Dogpile!

I can't decide which one's my favorite. What do you think?

Ode to Gardendale

2005-10-23T16:14:00.000-07:00

This is a poem of a church from the summer
That leaving was a really big bummer
I loved all the people, especially the youth
Because we are bonded by the Truth.
So if you're out there reading this from Corpus or around
Know there's someone praying for you in another town.

OK so I totally just wrote that in literally 2 minutes. It just flowed, ya know? That poem was for all you fam from Gardendale and I'm sorry it's so cheesy. I updated this especially for you so that you could see my blog and see what it's all about. Your comments are appreciated, haha.

Here are some pictures from the summer I hope you'll all enjoy! I hope you remember all the fun times.....

Remember the Border Mullet ...

Remember the Mexican church

Remember the fires on the Zacatecas rooftops....

Remember the Hooks games...

Remember Camp....

Remember the awesome car washes that filled our summer up...

Remember your intern....

Love you guys!

Update of a lifetime

2005-10-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Update update update.

Ode to the chocolate chip goodness. This is one fourth of the cookies we made for Bradyn's wedding. I was breathing cookie by the time I left that kitchen. Yummmmmmm.

Elevate Jesus Elevate (clap clap clap clap clap clap....)

2005-09-27T21:17:00.000-07:00

Welp, another 9 days goes by and I finally update. Dan, you should be proud!
This weekend was spent in the grand city of Moore, where a couple hundred college students including myself gathered to hear about how we could "blur the lines between faith and life" at the 2005 Elevate conference. Speakers like David Nasser and Strapp were there to challenge our faith and pursue the passion God's called us to. Man, God is so strategic! He completely cleared up some things about the life He's given me and encouraged me to step out in faith to follow Him with my major and "job" later in life. Wow. I wasn't even going to go, but the "OU BSU Vespers Band" (because we have yet to come up with a cool name besides 'Beck and the Beckettes' we have been called this for some time... if you have any suggestions about our name, please don't hesitate to comment) was invited to play in this sort of Coffee House deal one night and then I decided it was something I should go to. Anyhoo, I'll spare you the details and instead chronicle the events with pictures, which is all I like to do on this blog anyway.

Ahhh.... the musicians. Here we are practicing for our first ever out-of-Vespers "gig." I'm proud of my boys *grandma voice*

There he is, leader of Beck and the Beckettes. Play that funky music white boy!

Ok so they sent us girls to go get food and we eventually found ourselves at Taco Smell ordering 32 tacos and 6 large drinks. There's our total:
(I think what's sadder than that gargantuan amount of money spent on Mexican food was the fact that there are atleast 19891 Taco Bell stores....)

Rock it out Danny! That's a real guitarist face there...

Awwww sisters!

Awwww couples!

Awww roommates!

We hung out with friends....

... we shopped at the bookstore....

... we learned from godly men and women...

... we were discipled....

... we slept (not during the conference! what were you thinking?.... sinner....) ....

.... we put plates over our faces......?......

(we didn't all really put plates over our faces... this picture just sort of freaks me out, so naturally I had to blog it...)

We learned from Grandy's what a "Necessary Room" is....

And that was Elevate in a nutshell. Could you ask more from a conference? I think not.
Holla out there....

2005-09-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well, I sure did pick a good year not to be in Pride. I mean, if someone where going to make me sit through all the games this season then I think I might throw a hammer on my foot. Watching the games in the comfort of someone else's home who has cable (unlike our house... boo) still can't stop me from screaming at the top of my lungs every time Bomar threw an interception or we fumbled the ball this season. Thank the Lord for 9 stitches in my foot and not being enrolled this semester, because there is no way I'd be able to make it through every home game this year in a 145 degree Pride uniform. If we're lucky enough to get to a bowl game this year, the only one that'd probably sadly take us back is the Cotton Bowl, where we'd tread again weeks after being slaughtered by Texas. Ugh, just the thought makes me want to move to Bulgaria where I wouldn't have to hear about it forever.
Anyways, sorry about this post being about football... I'm usually not this passionate about it, but it's more of an opportunity to praise God for saving me from something pretty horrible. So, in honor of these last 2 seasons being pretty great, here is my favorite picture from the 2004 season. JWhite, we all miss you!

(This is not Photoshopped.)

Blah

2005-09-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

I'm totally not motivated to post anymore. I feel kind of guilty reading other people's blogs now (not just because of what we talked about at team last night, sheesh) because I'm not really contributing to the blogging world myself.
So this is all I have for you- a picture of me gazing at a Billy Ray Cyrus poster in the gift shop of the Christian camp I took my youth to this summer. We thought it was so weird- I mean, Billy gone Christian and the-best-mullet-in-the-world-less?

I'm stitch free!

2005-08-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I went to the doctor today and got my last stitches removed from my foot. It's almost all the way healed. Thanks for all the prayers and for asking me how it's been doing. It's been an encouragement!
I took this picture today at the doctor. Don't worry. I cleaned all the blood up. Hehe.

Wow

2005-08-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

I will update soon..... and very soon.....