10 Day Blog Challenge: Day Four

Seven things that cross your mind often:

1. God (prayer)

2. James

3. Doing the right thing/saying the right thing

4. "What's for lunch/dinner?"

5. My need to exercise

6. My friends/family

7. My mortality

I would also like to give a little shout out: 
Happy Birthday Dad!

10 Day Blog Challenge: Day Three

Eight things you couldn't live without:

1. God, Faith, the Bible, etc. 

2. Air

3. Water

4. Sleep

5. Food

6. James

7. Family

8. Friends

I could have gone a different route with this, but I chose to go with the most essential.

10 Day Blog Challenge: Day Two

Nine things about yourself that most people don't know:

1. I rinse the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher.

2. According to James, I grind my teeth in my sleep.

3. Cleaning the shower is my least favorite chore, and I am very thankful God gave me a husband who is willing to take that responsibility away from me.

4. Almost every time I get the mail, the Blue's Clues Mail Song pops in my head.

5. I was crowned the basketball homecoming queen my senior year in high school.

6. My grandfather wanted my parents to name me Geraldine.

7. I have never once been able to beat the original Nintendo Super Mario Bros. (or any other video game for that matter).

8. I have been to a Muslim religious service at the local mosque.

9. One of my goals is to hold a live koala. I've wanted to since I was was little, and I'm still waiting for the opportunity.

10 Day Blog Challenge: Day One

Ten things you want to say to ten people right now (in no particular order):

1. Ed, please stop accusing me of not liking you. Sure, some things you say I feel could be left unsaid. Some days you frustrate me. Sometimes I don't understand your way of thinking. That doesn't mean I don't like you. You are a great boss, and I'm glad to be able to work with you and everyone else in our department. Thank you for hiring me. This truly is one of the best jobs I've ever had-crazy days and all. 

2. Tammy, I have really enjoyed getting to know you over the past several months. You mean a great deal to me. Thank you for all the ways you have helped me with work and listened when I needed to talk things out. I love hearing you talk about your kids. You are an amazing mom, and I respect you so much for it.

3. Patrick, I am so glad you applied to work for this department. You are such a level-headed and hardworking person. I respect you for being so positive and strong despite the hardships you've endured. I always enjoy the random conversations we have throughout the day. By the way, I was serious about playing tennis. I hope we can make that happen sometime soon!

4. James, thank you so much for loving me the way you do. You are my best friend and the love of my life. Things are not always perfect with us, but I think it's perfect that way. We work so well together even with all our imperfections. You make me want to be a better person, and I pray I do the same for you. I could never fully express how thankful I am that God brought us together. Excluding Jesus' sacrifice for our salvation, you are the most precious gift He has ever given me. I love you more every day.

5. Becca, you have been one of my best friends for nearly a decade now...yeah, it's been that long. I love you so much. I have especially enjoyed our gmail chats every day. It makes me feel so much closer to you even though we're hours apart. I realize I sort of already told you this when I commented on your blog, but you need to hear (or read) it again because word on the street is you're not too bright! Haha! You make me laugh harder and more often than anyone else I know. I love how we know each other so well. Like you said in your blog, I love how we can laugh about random, stupid or pointless things one minute but then keep one another accountable in our walks with God the next. I really do hope that God allows us to live close together again someday soon. Life is so much better with you near me!

6.  Moma, it's been so wonderful to grow closer to you in the past few years. I hope you know how much I love you.

7. Daddy, you are one crazy, funny guy, but the one thing that I love most about you is how you will bend over backwards (metaphorically speaking) to make us happy. Thank you for always being there for me, Britt and Eric.

8. Britt, I'm so happy you're living here in Martin. I enjoy getting to spend time with you each week. You're doing great out on your own. I'm proud of you.

9. Eric, I'm proud of the young man you are becoming. I wish we could spend more time together. 

10. To many of my family and friends who may not know Jesus, I implore you to consider beginning a relationship with Him. I realize some radical or hypocritical Christians mar Christianity by making it seem crazy or pointless, and perhaps even by my writing this, you may be offended or put off.

We are given only one life on this earth, and in our short time here, we have a choice to make: knowing God through Jesus or else reject Him and...you know the rest. I don't like to talk about the whole eternal damnation subject very often, but the truth is we will answer to God either now or later. By not choosing, we reject God. By coming to know Him through Jesus, we become heirs to His kingdom here on earth and in Heaven. I love you and could not imagine knowing that you may die without knowing the love and peace of our Savior.

"Jesus was the first to conquer death, and he is the ruler of all earthly kings. Christ loves us, and by his blood he set us free from our sins. To him be glory and power forever!" (Taken from Revelation 1)

Night at the Movies

James and I went to see Resident Evil: Afterlife at the theater tonight. We are fans of the Resident Evil franchise and own the trilogy, so we were looking forward to seeing the fourth movie in the series. (James introduced me to it, and it grew on me. What can I say?) We were seated in the theater wearing our 3-D glasses ready for the action when we heard another viewer talking loudly near us. As if people who talk loudly in a movie theater isn't bad enough, he kept it up for what seemed to me like too long. I asked James if he would politely ask the guy to be a little quieter. James did so and then told me that the guy said he was reading the subtitles to his son because he couldn't read yet. Truth be known, we should have been more patient. The subtitles on the screen lasted only a few minutes into the movie, so perhaps the guy would have eventually quieted down. That's not exactly my point though. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the child is not old enough to read, the child is certainly not old enough to be in a R-Rated movie. That fact irritated me so much that I felt the need to share it. The End. 

New Specs from Warby Parker

My good friend Tommy recently introduced me to the wonderful world of Warby Parker. He received his pair yesterday, I received mine today and my my other good friend Becca will received hers in a day or two. If you are in need of a new pair of glasses, I highly recommend checking them out. For every pair of glasses Warby sells, they donate a pair to people in need. As if that's not enough, they also sell every pair for only $95. That includes the cellulose acetate frames and anti-reflective polycarbonate lenses. Did I mention they do not charge shipping? Seriously. You cannot find a better value for your buck.

I'll post a pic of me in my new specs later when I can use my camera. The camera phone pics weren't cutting it. : )

Roommate Update No. 2

Actually, James and I no longer have a roommate. Britt moved into her studio apartment on Monday! I think she likes it so far. Our dad came up on Tuesday to bring her some essentials like her bed, microwave, cleaning supplies, etc. We all had lunch together before they unloaded her stuff, and it was quite enjoyable. Our mom is coming up this weekend to see Britt's new place and to help her get settled in. It'll be fun to have mom stay the night in Martin. She never has before, so I look forward to it. I'm hoping she'll visit Central with me on Sunday. James leaves for drill today and will be there the rest of the week and over the weekend, so it'll be nice to have her there with me.

Roommate Update

So far so good! I was actually very nervous about having Britt stay with us for an extended period of time. Although it has definitely been an adjustment for us all, she has completely surprised James and I both. Anytime we have gotten frustrated with one another, we have reconciled the issue quickly and easily. She has shown a great deal of motivation and enthusiasm for working at her new job and for searching for a place to live. She's even found a place she thinks may work out perfectly for her. The landlord said she could move in around the second week of September. That means this little arrangement may come to an end sooner than we all expected. Not that we are eager for her to go, we just know that we'll all be more settled when James and I can have our apartment to ourselves again and when Britt has a space all to her own.

I just hope and pray that this time around, Britt will be able to finally stand on her own. James and I both believe that her being here may be just what she needed to "find herself" so to speak. Living with her illness is not easy for anyone, especially her. She deserves to find self-reliance like anyone else her age. Pray with me that God will teach her to depend on Him during this time, that her illness will fade, and that she will experience true joy and peace. Thanks!

Finding Old Friends in New Places

"But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."

1 Corinthians 12:24b-27

James and I joined Central Baptist Church on Sunday. We are excited to find such a great place to get involved. The people at Central are so welcoming and warm, and we really enjoy our Sunday school class. We only visited the church for a month before we decided to join. Our friend Shirah joined on the same day we did. Her husband Anthony and I grew up together at my home church. His dad was my first youth pastor. I had no idea walking into Central that I'd find a friend from my childhood!

Anthony and Shirah invited James and I to go jet-skiing last weekend, and we had a blast! I was so scared at first (mainly because James drives like a bat out of you-know-where), but after a while I got the hang of it and didn't want to stop!

Anthony and Shirah

James and Lexie

New Roommate

After much discussion, prayer and consideration, James and I agreed to let my sister move in with us for a temporary period of time. She has visited us a couple times since we've moved to Martin, and she came again for a visit last Wednesday. She tends to be quite spontaneous to say the least. On Thursday she decided she wanted to move to Martin. She applied for admission to UTM, she went job hunting, and she looked for an apartment. On Friday she had already landed a job interview and she got the job. James and I would like to know how she manages to get jobs so easily! We applied to several places and didn't hear anything for months before we were called in for an interview. She has a knack for it, that's for sure!

Call us crazy but James and I both feel this opportunity could really benefit Britt. She deserves the chance to experience independence. By moving here, she very well could develop a sense of responsibility and independence away from our parents. We are giving her a couple months to stay with us while she saves her money and gets settled into her own place. We'll see what happens!