Ponderings

I am the type of person that loves to question and wonder about things. But I also like for there to be mystery and I like that so much of the world and God I do not understand. Sometimes, I get to thinking about all of these things and I have trouble sleeping at night. These are some of the things I ponder about and some of them just blow my mind!

How do bridges stay up?

Who decided there would be 5280 feet in a mile and why?

How do mountains form so slowly? ( I want to see it happen)

How long is forever?

Why am I so blessed?

How do they get the grass lines so straight on baseball fields?

How do airplanes stay up?

How do our conversations go between phones?

Light years?

Where does wind come from?

Do we all see color the same?

How big is the universe?

What was Jesus like as a kid?

Do we like different foods because they taste different to people or we just like different tastes?

How does it feel to get tackled by an NFL player in NFL pads?

Would I be a Christian if I was born somewhere else?

And my all time favorite...where is the internet?

Now I am sure there are real explanations for some of these things but I kinda like not knowing. And also I know some of these cannot be understood by us and that is cool too. Any other good ponderings out there?

Starbucks Diaries

I have been working at Starbucks for over two months now and I have really gotten the hang of it. I like the people I work with and I love seeing and talking with all the different people that come into the store. We have our regulars that come every day and then the random people that stop by. You never really know what each day will be like and I would like to share some of the interesting experiences I have had since working there.

Most Awkward Moment:
This occurred last night. The store was pretty empty and I was in the storage closet putting things up from our order. There was a large group of older adults sitting at a table and talking pretty loudly and I could not help over hearing part of their conversation. Lets just say the major words that stuck out to me were words like vibrator, position and naked!!!!! I am glad I was in the closet so they did not see my face. I think anyone, no matter how old they are, should maybe keep their voices down on these topics in a quiet public place. I am glad that older people still enjoy themselves but i do not want to hear about it!!!

Scariest Moment:
They tell us that the most common times to get robbed are the first 30 min. of opening and the last 30 min. before closing. So to avoid this we are careful with the money and not going out into the dark by ourselves. The other morning I was opening and the store was still closed and we were getting things ready. I heard a knock on the window and looked up and a guy was trying to say something to me. I just held my hand up and said we opened at 5 but that was not what he wanted. So I went closer to the window and asked what he wanted. He seemed really worried said he had given us the wrong newspapers and he needed to get inside. I asked him to wait and told the shift that I was working with. She said he would have to wait because she had all the money out. So I told him this and went back to work. I looked up a few minuets later and he was gone and he never came back. Now maybe he just decided it did not matter but my little instinct inside said that he was lying and that is not what he would have done when he got inside. I like to trust this instinct too because usually it says everyone is nice and will not hurt you but once in a while it goes off and I like to listen to it. Thankfully he did not come back.

Oddest Moment:
This is another time that I cannot be for sure that I am right but I really think I am. This happened one morning when not much was going on. A lady came in and ordered a drink and sat down at a table. Normal right? Then some police came in just to get some coffee and she looked at them and got up and went outside leaving all her stuff at the table. Once they were gone she came back. This happened two more times when cops came inside and the last time she took her stuff and went to the bathroom and never came back (our bathroom connects to the place next door). Now maybe I am just looking for excitement but I really think she did not want to be seen by the cops! I wonder what she did!

Funniest Moment:
Last Saturday morning I was working and a girl came in and she was not very steady on her feet. Pretty much right away it was clear that she was totally drunk and she informed me that she had just drove from Gunnison which is about a 3 hour drive. Scary to think she was on the road that long since she could hardly stand. So she ordered her drink and I told her it was $2.74 and she looked up and said "No you're $2.74!" It was all I could do to keep from cracking up in her face. Then she started looking in her purse for money and looked for about 5 min. when Johnny, one of our regulars and super nice man, offered to pay for hers. She took her drink and slowly and wobbly walked outside, having trouble opening the door. She stayed around for a while coming in and out looking very confused. I am not sure where she ended up but I think a friend came and got her.

Rollercoaster

It has been an up and down kinda day. It started out great with a night of 11 hours of sleep that I needed badly after working two closings and two openings. So I woke up refreshed and did some things around the house, made some cookies, and wrote some emails. Then I talked to my mom and she was heading to my grandparents in Temple because my grandpa was in the emergency room and no one could get a hold of them. I said a prayer and gave it to God knowing I could do nothing right then.

Later, I met Art to do some videoing of students on campus but we did not have the camera so that was scratched. As usual in ministry our plan did not work out so we got some other things done. We worked on some paper work for getting a booth for the freshman day next week and then found out all the different ways that clubs are allowed to advertise on campus. I had no idea! This new information was so encouraging to me and just made me excited for the new semester. I always felt no matter how many good ideas I had for events they would be a flop if no one knew about them so I am glad to have this new resource. The lady who helped us seemed genuinely interested in us and in helping us and that is always great to have on your side. Then we spent some time on campus, observing students and talking about how we could meet their needs. I got excited.

Then I went from that encouraging time to another one. I set up myself in a private room at the Golden library and got on skype to have a conference call with my mission teammates as they are all in Abilene. It was a little strange being on the computer with all of them in another place and there were the expected awkward silences but it was good to talk with them and see how everyone was. We made the exciting decision to make Concepcion, Chile the for sure place that we will be working. It had been on all our hearts for the summer but we needed time to think but it was made official today. Woo Hoo! We talked about other things going on and there is so much more to talk about but it was good for today.

Talking with them made me want to be back in Abilene so so much. It was my decision to be here in Colorado and miss out on things in Abilene and I have loved my time here but it is time to go back. Now I am super pulled between the two places and am trying to find a healthy balance. I am totally committed to the Rocky Mountain Campus Ministry this semester and I want to be engaged and work hard a my job and be successful but I am also very dreamy and excited about being back in Abilene in school and with my teammates. I just pray that God helps me work it out between the two. Some days I am so glad to be in Colorado and cry just thinking about leaving and other days (like today) I sit in the cold night air in August and dream about Chile and I cannot wait to be back in Texas. Seriously pulled.

Anyways, so I am up and down about all that and then I got some more news about my gpa. My medical knowledge and understanding is limited but he had a hernia in his intestines and was in surgery for 3 hours to fix it. Then there was something about a cadaver and a slit in something but think he will be ok as long as there are no complications. He will just be in the hospital for a week. So I am relieved that he came out of surgery ok and I pray that he heals well. I hate stuff like this. I feel so helpless. Please pray for him!!

I'm Not Ready

I know it is still August and all my Texas readers are sweating to death right now and will think I am crazy, but I am already starting to worry about winter here in Colorado. I am just not ready yet. It still got into the 90's today but no one can deny that summer is coming to an end. The days are getting shorter and this morning as I rode my bike to work (at 4:30am) and it was a little chilly. I got goosebumps!

Luckily before winter comes fall and fall is amazing around here. Did you know leaves actually change colors? So cool! But along with fall comes the possibility of snow and as beautiful as snow is, it scares me. I hate driving in it, walking in it, tearing ACL's in it. I do love playing in it, but unless it snows like 3 feet in one night nothing gets closed and we have to go about our lives. I do thankfully have my beautiful Subaru named Kate who takes care of me, but all wheel drive or not ice is scary. Plus I am cold all the time and it stays dark so long I just want to stay inside and watch movies by the fire while drinking hot tea under 10 blankets.

I am probably making a bigger deal out of this than I should be but I am trying to find as many things as possible to make myself excited to move back to Texas. Colorado is beautiful and I LOVE it here but I am a Texas girl and I do not like cold weather. Anyways, I am going to make the most of the end of the summer and beginning of the fall and enjoy the beautiful, warm weather.

Movie Review

I think this is my first blog on a movie I have seen which is surprising because I LOVE movies and see lots of great ones. I found out about this movie from a Christian leadership conference I attended. The director, David Yates, spoke at it and even though I did not get to see him I wrote down the name of this movie to watch. The title is The Girl in the Cafe .

The movie has two main characters, Lawrence and Gina, and they are very shy and awkward. The do not fit together at all, but their love story runs throughout the entire movie. For the first half of the film it seems to just be a romantic comedy where the center of the film is the characters and not the plot. Then the two characters travel to the G8 Conference .

From this point on in the movie we begin to be told facts about poverty and AIDS and how many children die each day. And I was shocked and squirmed in my seat and the uncomfortable scene where Gena confronts the Chancellor and then his equal from Germany and even the Prime Minister of England. She has a quiet and polite manner about her but is very determined to share her opinions on the lack of work being done for the poor in our world. She challenges every powerful leader at the G8 to be remembered as the generation that began the fight on poverty instead of being ashamed for doing nothing. I won't tell you how it ended but lets just say I was crying and praying that it was true and not just a movie.

It is amazing how much God has been working on my heart these past few months and softening me to the great need in our world to serve the poor as Jesus did. He has spoken to me through books, people and now as strongly as ever through this movie. I stand firm on my belief that the middle class need Jesus too, but if Christians are not going to stand on behalf of the poor then who is? Matthew 25:31-46 talks about taking care of the hungry, and naked and those in prison and I hope the I am a sheep.

I don't want to walk the easy life and stay comfortable with my job and money and clothes. I want to be seen as a follower of Jesus and help make Christians known not for arguing and picketing, but for serving the poor. I want to use my blessing (and curse) of growing up in the US and being blessed more than I will ever know with financial security, to serve others and not just write a check every month and hope it makes a difference. I don't know how it will look but God does and I am his tool.

The "Jam" Jam

I am sitting on the floor in my house studying for the GRE eating a piece of toast with Fredricksberg Peach jam and I have been inspired to write a new silly song. (Anything to avoid studying). I love the title. Get it? Ha!

The "Jam" Jam

Sitting on the floor eating toast and jam
It is sweeter in my mouth than honey glazed ham.
I love the way it sticks in my mouth
They make it best in the Texas south.

There are tons of flavors that have become
Like peach, strawberry, grape and plum.
The weird ones could also make you merry
Try jalapeño, mint or maybe gooseberry.
The many ways to eat we must boast
Spread it on crackers, biscuits and even toast!

So this is my silly jam about jam
If you don't like it you can scram.
I hope this treat brings you delight
And does not make you run in fright!

Late Nighter

Wow! This is the second night in a row that I have been up past midnight. Go me! Seems like lately I have had to go to bed early to get up early for work but I did not work today and don't work tomorrow. I like staying up late and sleeping late so lets just hope I can sleep late tomorrow.

Last night I stayed up late because there was a meteor shower going on and I wanted to check it out. I had never seen one before and did not really know what to expect. I seriously thought there would just be tons of large shooting rocks across the sky obviously not close to hitting me but still big and on fire. I was wrong. They were pretty much just shooting stars about every 10 minuets. By about 12:15 I was starting to close my eyes and decided to go to bed because what is the point of watching a meteor shower with your eyes closed! It was still a nice night to sit out on my deck and stare at the stars and be in awe of how ginormous stars are and how they are light years away and I cannot even understand that. And what is even cooler is that God made them for us!!! Of course I like to think aliens and stuff are out there because that could be super exciting (Independence Day anyone?). But I think they are just amazingly beautiful and awesome stars for us to enjoy and see God's greatness!!

So tonight I am up late because I was watching a movie with my friend Jeremy when I got a glorious call. See I was supposed to get up at 4:30am to go on a hike with our campus ministry team and others from church but we decided that was too much. Instead we are meeting at 11am to do our own hike. Along with this call I agreed to go pick up a new Interlink student (International English student) at the airport which after working at Interlink for 9 months I never did this. So I tagged along and got to go wondering around the airport looking for this kid holding a sign and having lots of people stare at me. We did find him and got him to his hotel and now I am home and am off to bed.

It's That Time

Football season is starting! Yea! I know a lot of baseball fans will hate that I have given up on baseball and am jumping into football while it is still pre-season but I really have nothing going for me in baseball. I suck at fantasy baseball and the one team I care about, the Houston Astros, don't have much of a chance. So why not move onto something new to hope about.

I am a devoted Houston Texans fan. I know they have been pretty bad in the past and that may not change but they are my team and I am sticking with them. And no I don't like them just because David Carr is cute, because he is gone now. I do hope he does good with the Panthers because he could have been a good player if he had been with a good team.

Now we have Matt Schaub and I am hoping he can do some good for us along with Ahman Green and some of our new draft picks. From our first look at things it does not look like much of a different team but they can always surprise us. I think our goal should be to be 8 and 8 at the end of the season and not have our QB be the leader in being sacked. Is that too much to ask?

But no matter how good or awful the Texans are I am excited for football season. Today I turned on some pre-season game just to have it on in the background. Is that weird? I love coming home from church on Sundays and laying around and watching football on my little TV and then playing some catch during half time. Who could ask for a better Sunday!

Sadly my Texans are hardly ever played in Denver, but I keep up with their stats and try to enjoy watching the Broncos play who are actually pretty good. They have a beautiful stadium too and I would LOVE to go to a game!

Oh yeah, and when I was in Houston the newspaper gave instructions on how to change your Carr jersey to a Schaub jersey so you don't have to buy a new one. Here is the link . I thought it was pretty funny but useful if you are handy like that!

Texas Fun

I am back in Colorado and took no time to get back into working. My trip to Texas was super fun. I spent most of the week at a place called Waltonia which is outside of Kerrville, Tx on the Guadalupe River. It is a place along the river with cabins that I have been to every year of my life except for last summer and I have such amazing memories there. I seriously remember after one summer of going to Disney World and then Waltonia, not being able to decide which was more fun.

I wont go into detail of what happened because that would be long and boring. A few events that occurred were I had another eventful airport experience, played in the river, ate amazing food, read, studied for the GRE, visited Caverns of Sonora, hydroplaned, played games (no jail for me), drew tattoos, fed goats, pigs and donkeys, played croquet and Frisbee, and hung out with my family.

After the few days at Waltonia we went back to Houston where I got to hang with my BFF. I went to church and then had a day on the lake where I threw up twice from motion sickness. Yuck I know. I also had a full day of appointments visiting my knee Dr. (everything is fine), getting fitted for a brace for if I ever ski again, and getting my teeth cleaned. No cavities! Yea! The week was perfect and now it is back to reality of working and playing in Colorado. Rough I know!