Raindrops on Roses

These are a few of my favorite things:

Movie?

Love & Basketball…duh!

Genre of music?

Country

Song?

Just to See You Smile by Tim McGraw

Book?

Ooh...tough one! Other than the obvious answer, The Bible, I’m gonna have to go with Francine River’s Mark of The Lion trilogy. It combines everything in one: romance, history, action, suspense, biblical principles…

Place to Read?

The treadmill…it helps me focus on the book.

City?

Hmm. I’m gonna have to say London. I LOVE it and want to go back and spend more time there.

Food?

Gosh, I have so many! Let’s just say anything with sugar.

Color?

GREEN! I love it.

Joke?

I probably shouldn’t say it on here. If you want to know, ask me, but I may not tell you.

TV show?

F.R.I.E.N.D.S!!! No D.

Famous quote?

True joy is not a thing of moods, not a capricious emotion, tied to fluctuating experiences. It is a state and condition of the soul bound up with love and goodness, and so is deeply rooted in the life of God.

Bible verse?

Philippians 4:4-9 & Isaiah 40:26-31

My Sanity is Gone

I am losing my mind. Seriously. I’m misplacing/losing things…and I don’t lose things. I ramble. I’m forgetful. It’s bad! School is taking its toll on me this semester more than any other. The classes require much independent work and research, which I am finding hard to fit in my schedule. I KNOW I’ll get it all finished and I KNOW it will be worth it….it’s just getting from here to there. In order to help myself stay optimistic and energized I’m trying to think of what I can do when this is all over. Here are my plans for my three weeks off…

o Lay out and tan this pasty skin

o Read adult books (by this, I just mean NOT a children’s book)

o Plan a girl’s night out to go dancing

o Give my apartment a good cleaning

o Catch lightning bugs with Kait (she’s never done it!)

o Go to the mountains with my fam

o Go to the beach…hopefully!

o Go to Cali…definitely!

Hurry up July 22^nd!! You can’t get here soon enough!

Men are From Mars

I recently started reading the book Sacred Influence by Gary Thomas. It was given to me Sunday to take to a friend. I, of course, am frantically trying to read it before passing it on. Yes, it’s a marriage book and no, I’m not married. That doesn’t mean I can’t read about marriage, right? If anything, it’s scaring me into singleness. Being a wife is a BIG responsibility. Who woulda thought?? I’m being sarcastic, in case you couldn’t tell. Anyway…the book is very funny, enlightening and challenging. I thought I would include a few of the statistics I find interesting:

o Fetuses begin to produce hormones at three months, influencing how the baby will react to the world. Males have up to twenty times more testosterone than females. I love how this disproves the theory of “nature versus nurture” and reveals God’s creativity and design.

o Male brains have less serotonin than females (serotonin calms people down). The author (not myself) mentions this could cause men to act "explosively and compulsively."

o Men have less oxytocin in their brains. The higher the oxytocin levels, the less aggressive the person is likely to be. Just sayin’.

o Women’s brains have 15% more blood flow, which is why we are able to stay on task until later hours and “process complex entertainment.” Thomas was referring to the way men like to watch simple movies at night…like buildings blowing up and cars crashing. Women, on the other hand, have the ability to watch more thought provoking shows...like The Bachelor. :)

And last, but certainly not least…

o It takes men up to seven…SEVEN hours longer than women to process complex emotional data.

This was all taken from the chapter entitled “Understanding the Male Mind.” Umm…I think it’s going to take a lot more than that to help me understand the male mind, but I think it does give us women a tiny idea. Let me just say, too, that my comments are not meant to be offensive. I’m not a man hater! I love men! You fascinate me. I think the way God created men and women to be so different is intentional and purposeful. As the tagline from another awesome book by Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage, reads, “What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy.”

I've Got Quirks, Yes I Do. I've Got Quirks, How 'bout You?

At the risk of causing myself much embarrassment, I thought it might by fun to make a list of my “quirks.” I thought about this last night while brushing my teeth. You see, since junior high I have put my toothpaste on my tongue instead of my toothbrush. Why, you ask? It’s neater. Doing this creates less icky sticky toothpaste build-up in the cap of the toothpaste tube. Anyway…I started thinking about quirky habits. I have a few…

I eat Smarties and M&M’s in pairs, by color.
I love country music! It may not be cool, but I just don’t care. I love it. Period.
I always take a “walrus” picture with Wesley when we eat with chopsticks.
If you use my spoon/fork, I make you “clean it.” In other words, lick it clean, but do not give it back with any food or food residue on it!
I don’t like sponges. I had a science lesson on how germy they get. Yuck!
I like things neat, not necessarily clean…although I like that too.
I hate washing/maintaining/vacuuming/windexing/dusting my car!!! Sorry, but that’s a man’s job.
I color code my closet and drawers.
I pop my thumbs a lot.
And of course, I put my toothpaste on my tongue instead of my toothbrush.

Okay, I admitted mine. What are some of yours?

Short & Sweet

Life is crazy. It’s busy, surprising, fun and funny! I love how circumstances and people can change in one day’s time. I love how God provides just in the nick of time. And I LOVE resting in the assurance that no matter how crazy life gets, I can breath easy, knowing The Truth. All I have to say today is…God is so good!

What Goes In, Must Come Out

A non-believer told me something rather insightful once. Being a music lover, he said, “Good music makes you want to do something.” It’s insightful in an obvious way…but it made me think about music a little differently. What he said is so true. It’s why we listen to music. If I am in a mellow mood and want to stay that way, I may put on some Ray LaMontagne. If I’m in a mellow mood and want to perk up, I’ll play something like She & Him (or maybe even rap. Shh!). If I’m just plain ole’ pissed off (that’s not a curse word in my family), I will put on Christian music. Not because it’s necessarily what I WANT to listen to, but I know it will make a difference in my attitude for the better. As a rule, I try to leave my radio set to WDJC (the local Christian station) because I know how my day is effected by what I listen to. I am reminded of a quote I love, which reads:

“Control your own destiny by controlling what goes into your mind. The books you read, the thoughts you think, the television you watch, the conversations you participate in, the people you associate with, and the music you listen to combine to create your future. Are you sowing the seeds for the life you want five years from now?”

Wow!! How true are those words!?! We should be so cautious of everything we put into our minds because they really do affect us more than we realize. The bible says in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” This is one of my favorite verses from the bible because it is so encouraging. A friend and mentor once asked me to describe, using one adjective, what God was to me. It took me a few minutes to give her an honest answer, but it was “Optimist”. God gives me positivity in a fallen, negative, and pessimistic world. He does this through His word, music, other people, and books...just to name a few. He can only do this if I will allow Him to, though. I have to be willing to choose good over evil, Christian over secular. God is so good, but I have to allow His goodness to come into my life. This is accomplished through small "unimportant" choices we make all day, every day. Which brings me back to the "tagline" of my blog: How we live our days is how we live our lives.

Updates

Here's a few more Mom:

3. Vent about how ridiculous someone is being

4. See what's going on

5. Tell her how great Melissa's surprise birthday party was and that we wish she could have been there

6. Just to talk...I'm bored

7. Ask about insurance

8. Thank her for my sweet card

9. Ask her about my thoughts/plans for fall semester

10. Discuss possibly doing my internship in Fairhope