Austin

We saw this cool fountain, but it was off.

So, yesterday morning, Marissa, Liz, and I woke up really early and drove to Austin at 6:30 am. It was a freaking blast! The weather was really nice and we enjoyed it with the windows down like 45 minutes on the way there and like 20 on the way back. It was really foggy in the morning though.

So, we get to Austin and decide to eat at Kerbey Lane Cafe (which was great, I discovered Chocolate Coffee and had really delicious franch toast.) and Kyle Clarkson joined us after some confusion as to where exactly the Kerbey Lane Cafe was that we were at. Kyle ended up leading us around town for the day and we had a great time. We visited Lindsay Landry and had a (fairly awkward) visit with Megan Hanlon (awkward because Lindsay and I were the only ones who knew her, haha). The we walked down The Drag (which is apparently a shopping street in Austin, haha.) so that Marissa and Liz could look through the vintage-y clothing stores, which was pretty interesting. We went into the Co-op (big mistake) and drowned in the sea of burnt orange, only to go outside and be chased down the road by a mob of UT people rallying for the game yesterday.

Anyway, we had a LOT of fun and I hope we get to visit some other places on random weekends soon! haha.

BTW, I'm 19 on Thursday! There will be a party at my house Friday. Taylor, Molly, and Erin will be in town then! :D

peace.

Simplicity.

"Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common." Acts 4:32

In a feeble attempt to make something of this verse, what can I give you? Yes, you! You, reading this blog right now! Is there anything that you need? Anything that you want? I would love to share it with you. I'm trying to figure this verse out. So please, ask away! If what I have is truly not my own, I should be able to give it to you.

O Resplendent Light

I could see borders in the sky, where light and rain fell side by side. They both came down like a tide; one as cleansing water, the other, illuminating the countryside.

This is finals week for me! I like art finals. Then I have a week off, which just happens to coincide with my birthday :D 19! Then the new quarter!

Molly, Taylor, and Erin are all going to be in town next weekend! I'm really pumped. Party at my house! I'm shooting for that friday, but we might have small group? I just remembered that. We might not, but I'll have to see. Otherwise, can anyone host a party that friday? haha.

David Crowder Band's new cd, Church Music is fantastic! I've already listened to it like 3 times. haha. I'm going to see them in concert for Brian's birthday (the 3rd) on the third! 'Twill be awesome!

I feel like there's more happening right now, but I can't remember it.

Thank God for good friends. And family. They are such a blessing.

How are you doing?

Books

This is just a bunch of books that I have on my list to read (or reread) at the moment.

by Ted Dekker
Saint
Showdown
Renegade
Chaos
Lunatic
Elyon
Green

by Richard J. Foster
Freedom of Simplicity

by Andrew Murray
With Christ in the School of Prayer

By J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

This is going to take a while. I'm still reading Celebration of Discipline which continues to amaze me. It's a great read. I just finished Sinner by Ted Dekker, which was a great thriller, as most of his books are.

Names. NAMES! Names?

Let me just tell you something.

I have SO MANY stinkin' names to remember! It's crazy! I've gone through life up to this point where I had a database in my head of names that was at largest 400-500 names long. School, church, neighbors, relatives, family friends. It probably wasn't even that many. And it hardly fluctuated.

But NOW! Oh, let me tell you. I have SO MANY names to learn at once! I need to know the names of the people who attend college with me, the people I just started working with, all the Junior highers at the ABS I'm helping lead (did I mention that already? :). There are just SO MANY NEW NAMES! oh dear.

An Ode To Rain

It's raining at my house right now, which hasn't happened for at least a month. So here is an Ode To Rain, (hopefully) for your enjoyment!

I was driving home from my piano lesson when it started, and I decided that the perfect background noise for Nickel Creek is rain and a bit of thunder. It just sounded so good with 'Tomorrow Is A Long Time."

Also, here are some pictures I took of clouds that were raining when I saw them a few weeks ago:

"It's falling from the clouds,

A strange and lovely sound.

I hear it in the thunder

and the rain."

And here are some other rainy-day pictures:

The world looks more saturated after a good rain. The colors seem richer in the grass and plants. I would love to go for a walk right now, but I have a class soon. Maybe it will rain tomorrow too!

Triumph

Tonight, just as I was walking into my room I heard the Satan alarm
start to go off and I realize that I'm at that moment not in bed, not
almost asleep, and that all the lights are on--three things that have
never been the case before when the devil alarm has gone off. So, I
utilized my mobile status and found the demon watch and turned off the
horrible, horrible alarm. Finally. Triumph.