new hair :)

No more blonde rockstar ends! :)

On a very unhappy note, I seem to have tweaked my knee! I can't really even walk very well, let alone run, and I haven't tried the bike yet. :( I can't even pinpoint what I did since it just randomly started hurting yesterday and by last night felt like something had popped or it had hyperextended or something...I keep trying to shake it out like something just needs to pop back into place but no luck. I don't do very well with "rest," forced or not. I'm giving it a day or two.

Preparation and Resolution

I took my Joshua lesson notes to the gym this morning to work on the message a bit and hopefully find some inspiration (not necessarily at the gym; just with more thinking and praying through the stuff).

I set my bike at 30 minutes on hills and started pedaling away. Above me the TV was set on TBS and Walker Texas Ranger was on. :) I've never watched a complete episode of a Chuck Norris martial arts save the world like a true hero program, but my old roommate was mildly obsessed with him (ok--he wanted to BE him, I'm quite sure). Every once in awhile I glanced up to make sure Chuck and his blonde rescuee were still doing ok.

Then came the fight scenes (the blonde was safely tucked away in the tree branches, hidden from the world until her sneeze gave her away to the bad guys! Silly lady). Conveniently, Chuck (Walker? Texas Ranger?) was dressed in perfect martial arts friendly attire. I rolled my eyes. Isn't he ALWAYS conveniently dressed in perfect marial arts friendly attire? He is always so prepared. A bad guy comes within 15 feet and he's in position - crouching, hands up, ready to slice and dice.

He's always so prepared...hmmmm...!!! That is really what Joshua 1 is about, preparation. It's God's instructions to Joshua in order to be successful at what he is setting out to do: claim the Promised Land. But these instructions are not military instructions, they are SPIRITUAL instructions. Joshua's success is directly related to his obedience and his relationship with God. Be strong and VERY courageous, God says, which in the Hebrew gives a sense of being "resolute," or set in purpose, resolved or determined. Why should he need to be these things? Because the next instructions (v. 7-8) give us the key to Joshua's success: meditating on and being obedient to the book of the law.

Our spiritual life, like anything, takes resolution, purpose, and preparation. We get out what we put into it. Joshua needed a resoluteness to not turn from the law, to meditate on it day and night, and to carefully do everything in it. Like Walker Texas Ranger (sorry, bear with me), who has resolved to study his discipline and practice his form in order to be prepared for anything, like an athlete who must resolve (and it really is resolve!) to do those workouts, practice, push hard, or a musician who practices several hours a day -- it takes a decision to excel, plenty of preparation, and plenty of discipline. God was requiring this of Joshua, and he requires it of us in our spiritual lives.

Want to be in better shape? Exercise more. Want to be a guitar phenom? (I do, darn it!) Practice through the pain and build up those callouses and get nimble fingers. Want to be Walker Texas Ranger? Sorry, there is no one like Walker Texas Ranger. But want to be "successful" in your spiritual life, in tune with God, and having the kind of prosperity that HE desires for your life? Press in. Resolve to do what it takes: meditation, obedience, consistent faithfulness to the word, discipline.

I believe Chuck rescued the ditzy blonde and everything turned out ok. And in the process he gave me a little reminder that I can apply to my lesson and even the things that I spend my time on day in and day out. Walker Texas Ranger really does save the day. :)

I am teaching on Thursday. It’s a doozy of a week, I just turned in a big 15-page paper/exegetical project on Daniel 3 this morning that I’ve been working on, I have a historical theology test tomorrow, some Athanasius and Augustine to be reading, and then Joshua 1 on Thursday.

The biggest deal for me is teaching. Somehow I feel like I’ve made it through a year of this “tricking” everyone into believing that I can kind of teach but I still don’t really know how, nor do I feel particularly good at it. Working on my message last night was exciting, with all the information I have gleaned about the text and the insights I’ve found, and then disheartening, as I realized I had a huge pile of details and no coherent “message.” Not to mention fancy little illustrations or stories…not my strong point.

I’m feeling discouraged.

old house, new house

Our old treehouse

My parents' house sold this weekend, after less than a week on the market. My dad built this house before I was born! My lifetime saw the building of the sports court in front, and the addition of a couple bedrooms (including mine) and an office on the left...













I grew up here, in its various colors, and throughout my life I called 4 of the 5 bedrooms mine at some point. :)

Here is the new house they bought, the model anyway...major downsizing, but Mom's excited I think. Theirs isn't quite finished yet. They move mid-October.













I was home in June for my sister's wedding, and at one point I realized that that was the last time I would be staying in the house. When I go home for Christmas, it will be to the new house. I've never known a "home" besides that house, so it will be different! The neighborhood is being majorly upgraded; houses that were built in the 70s are being torn down and replaced by weird looking multi-million dollar homes. We can't help but wonder if our old house will remain intact...hopefully at least until December so I can drive by and get weird sad reminiscent and mopey feelings out of it. :)

the heavens declare...

Sunset on the way to Bible Study tonight, taken with my phone (right on Whittier Blvd!)...just gorgeous! :)

homecoming!

This is one of my best friends from SPU, Kristin, who married a Kiwi (James) who stole her away to New Zealand not too long ago. James just got a job in Oregon and they are coming home!! (Well, her home anyway...) They will pass through LA for a few days next weekend and I am oh so very excited to see them. Hi Kristin! :)

prayers answered

It was our first night of our Joshua Bible Study tonight. I was feeling a bit apprehensive because our group was to be twice as large as last year's, and we really had a cohesiveness and intimacy last year; all the girls grew really close. Part of me was excited to bring in new people and start fresh and make new relationships, and part of me (still) misses that tight group from last year (in actuality we only stopped meeting formally a few weeks ago!).

We had 26 people sign up (versus our 9-10 regulars last year). A bit of a challenge in Dana's living room, to say the least. :) And then there is the question of small groups...we didn't need them before; we were a small group. But you can't foster community and intimacy in a large group without some kind of small group setting. And then you miss out on fellowship with those who aren't in your small group...and how to divide those who know each other well and those of different ages, etc. ... I am torn.

Well, 20 ladies showed up tonight; about 2/3 were my age (20s & 30s), then the rest were near their 50s or older. I liked the mix. And there were enough older ladies that I think they will feel comfortable staying (unlike last year). :) Tonight went SO WELL. I am so encouraged! Great interaction, laughter, and whole group discussion. The size seemed really manageable and still really intimate because the setting is still a living room! I feel excited again, excited to teach next week. I actually did my "homework" this week and I really enjoyed it! Not writing the whole thing this year means that I can still go through it and learn from it myself. And Suzie did a great job of teaching our intro lesson. The group seems like it will gel really well. Praise God!

I teach next week on Joshua 1. I will focus on Joshua's new role in light of Moses' absence, the repeated exhortation to Joshua to be strong and courageous (perhaps because he wasn't strong or courageous?), faithfulness, and obedience...I am quite thankful that I am excited again and looking forward to a new year of this.

no comment...

no joke

I think I have tendonitis in my pointer finger from scrolling with my mouse.

On the table in the kitchen today at work:
Chocolate chip cookies
One chocolate cake
One coconut cake
A box of donuts
A veggie tray. Now this cancels all the other things out right?

Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a printout of what I'm going to be doing with my life. I don't need details, just a very bare bones outline would suffice. That way I can better plan the things I need to be involved in now, make easier decisions about what are and are not useful ways to spend my time, know who I need to be in relationship with, what kind of work experience I need, what kind of degree I should be getting, what language(s) to learn and what other training I might need. :) Uh huh. And that's exactly why I DON'T know!

And no, I did not eat any of that junk food on the table.

instant (almost) gratification

When you work hard at something, you see results. I am amazed at the running improvements I've seen only in the last month. Just a few times of running speed intervals and I am now running below a 9 minute mile regularly. I think our bodies can do more than we think, and quicker than we think. If you push through the discomfort just a few times, it goes away and becomes the new normal. :) Encouraging to know we are capable of quite a bit.

I am going to bed now--according to my new schedule I am supposed to be in bed in 20 minutes. So I must turn off my puter, put down my Historical Theology notes (but they are so CAPTIVATING!) and get in bed. Nighty night

Tiiiiiiime, it's on your side...

I am feeling the need to manage my time effectively. :) Set limits, goals, schedules. Make sure I am giving attention and priority to the right things. I've narrowed it down to 5 things that are on my list, in no particular order (except maybe the first one):
1. God. Duh. In the rush of school, moving, new schedules, this is getting shuffled around. I need more stability... today I set my alarm an hour earlier, pushed snooze for 38 minutes of it, and had 20 minutes left over to read and pray. Hmm. I need to do this in the morning, so I need to go to bed on time, which leads to another important thing-
2. Sleep. Not getting enough. This results from going to bed too late and general insomnia, and results in being tired all the time and being late in the morning. I need to make a routine at night, like finishing up everything by 10, and winding down, being in bed by 11. Hopefully the two hours it takes me to fall asleep will shorten if my body gets used to a routine (!?!?!). Go to bed on time, get up on time, and get enough sleep in there to function properly.
3. Homework. An obvious priority this time of year. My goal for this is to make my day off, Friday, study day, 9 to 5. (Or, maybe 10 to 5. :) That whole sleep thing...) With luck, I can get most of my stuff done and have the rest of the weekend to relax, and spend doing the other four things on this list, and also not be staying up late during the week studying.
4. Exercise. This is already a priority, and it might be a little higher on the list than it should be. (Though it is still in my top 5.) I need to find a routine for this as well, so that it doesn't take away from other areas.
5. Relationships. I've just moved and suddenly I am closer to most of my social life. :) It's great, and I want to make relationships and community a priority, with old friends and new. Often I am bad at corresponding or keeping in touch with people because I let everything else get in the way. How to make this a healthy priority without taking away from or getting run over by other important commitments? This may be new ground for me, sometimes I am all or nothing in this category. I will need to set boundaries for sure in spending time with people during the week, but this is also something I need to be intentional about, since I can swing the other way and become a recluse. :) I want to set out time this semester for just being with people.
So there's my top five. I think I will make a weekly schedule for myself and do my best to stick to it, including some time to let myself be spontaneous. ;) If I actually post this and it's out there, perhaps it will remind me what is important.

Back to the Bear

This is our theme for our Joshua Study that starts in a couple weeks. This weekend's teacher's retreat in Big Bear was a great time of brainstorming and collective thinking through the main themes and ideas of the book. "Be strong and courageous," faithfulness, obedience, God's presence and promises fulfilled. The idea of "success" and "prosperity" in God's eyes versus what it looks like in our culture, society, and mindset. How to get there in the proper way (meditation, obedience) rather than making it our primary aim.

Nice location, too :)

Suzie, my fellow single, childless buddy. :) (Sheesh. That's all.)

I hate my bed!

Why is sleep so hard to come by??? Argh...

Back with a (very rude!) Bang

Wasn't I JUST sitting in my Life of Christ class, freezing my butt off in the air conditioning while everyone else frolicked outside in the nice summer afternoon sun??? Didn't that class end only DAYS ago???

Alas, here I am again, in class. Had Historical Theology tonight, Daniel & Revelation tomorrow. Good classes but heavy workload in each. I was just getting used to the feeling of not having any kind of homework or responsibilities to tend to each night--(enter sound of record being screeched to a stop, or whatever it is that makes that noise in the movies) but here we go again. Our Joshua study starts in a few weeks too, looking forward to helping teach that (and praise God--the curriculum is DONE! No more writing chapters three days before they're supposed to be handed out!!) :)

Feeling more relaxed and content this week...it's good to have people around, be busy at work, and finally start to feel settled in the apartment. (Not to mention the 8 minute drive to work that has replaced my 45+ minute drive!)

Now why am I still up? I have an 8am class. Time for bed...hopefully for sleep!

zzzzzzzzz

You know the feeling ... headache ... permascowl ... groggy ... slow ... droopy, puffy eyelids ...

I can't sleep!!! Over a week now. I do just fine in the daytime, while I'm driving, for example, or on my desk at work, or while I'm praying in my chair in my room. But night time? The time you're SUPPOSED to be sleeping? Nope.

In the daylight I look over at my bed, a mixture of wistful longing and dread. Knowing that when night falls it becomes the Battleground. Me versus twisted sheets, stray thoughts, and dark shadows. With a headache to greet the morning.

It will pass...perhaps another week or so, that's what's normal. Cause: unknown. Frequency: maybe twice a year. Warning signs: this time...a move, lowly mood, and I don't know what else. Go away, please.

"I'm not lazy...I just really don't care."

Great, it just took me an hour & 20 to get home from Long Beach...at 1 am!! Construction...grr...

1. Ran 8 miles this evening, new record: 1:12:11. That was probably my best run ever. Smooth and felt great. Now I'm a little stiff. :)
2. I didn't think I was interested, but I saw "World Trade Center" tonight anyway. I cried. There are a lot of things to overwhelm you, not the least of which is the risks people will take to help others.
3. Justin got married today.
4. I've been feeling depressed or something this week and I just don't feel like writing depressing blogs. ok. :)

P.S. The title is a movie quote...(guess from where?)...and only partially descriptive of my attitude. ;)

P.P.S. I don't think my mood this week has anything to do with #3... 4 comes after 3 but the two are not related. Just had to say. :)

reset

I have been on the phone and computer for three days in a row with the electricity company, phone company, finding a refrigerator (I still don't have one of those--do you??) registering for classes and ordering books, coordinating people and uhauls for moving...blah blah blah.

However...I am done packing. I have slept in all week. I have read two entire books. I went sailing. I took naps. I ran the Fullerton Loop. I am still not excited to go back to work but hopefully by Monday I will at least be neutral. :) The new 5 minute commute will help! I needed a week away from work without any school or other work to think about, to kind of reset, recharge, whatever...I've been feeling a little dry and disinterested in just about every area of life. So I hope this week will ultimately have that result. And then school starts in a week and a half.




Plenty of this this week...I think I've caught a disease!!

M.I.A.

I'm on "vacation" and I haven't felt like blogging. :) Sorry. Maybe I will post some pics from sailing earlier this week.

8 miles

N. and I ran 8 miles the other night, and broke my previous fastest time, finishing in 1:16:38. Woo hoo! I didn't feel my best, so I know I can do even better. Deciding which kind of training I want to be doing: speed or distance? My previous thoughts on running a half marathon are still about how I feel...would like to do one just to do it, but not sure that's best for my knees in the long run... Training to run faster is fun and new, I've never run this way before.

Mom

Mom and Travis @ Lindy's wedding...I love this pic of both of them; I guess he's pretty funny. :)












Only my mom would come spend a week in LA to help me pack. Help me with $$, take me shopping, pack box after box, dig through all my stuff to help me figure out what to keep and what to discard, co-exist with anti-AC roommates, clean out my car and take it in for service. And pretend she likes it. :) Thank you, and I love you.

Packing

I haven't lived in my pretty house for even two years; not quite long enough to feel major upheaval as I pack and move, but still moving is significant and represents change. For me I think it means good change, as far as living closer to work and school, but also sad change, as I have grown to love and feel a part of this community of people I live with!

One of my roommates said to me the other day, "I'm old enough to know that people don't stay in touch very well when they move." I laughed at the time, that she would be "old enough" to know something like that. But I guess, when you are young, high school or college or whenever your first major changes begin to happen, you have all the intentions in the world to remain best friends forever with your group of friends. In college my friends and I assumed (joking, but wishing) we would all live in the same cul-de-sac and raise our kids together and I'm sure our kids would have intermarried and we would have become some sort of unhealthy religious commune. :)

In reality, I think I am still friends with one person from high school, and two or three people from college. It just never happens the way you plan. They are dear friends that are never replaced, who you have history with and who know you in ways that only longevity and journeying together can provide, yet they are few in number; new ones come along that know you differently, and know the new person you have grown into, who share current struggles and thoughts and areas of growth.

I'm alarmed at how easy it is to move into another stage of life and eventually lose all contact with the previous one. What makes ties strong enough that they withstand years and moves and major life events?

Today my mom and I will continue to pack up my belongings as I look forward to my new home. I have every good intention of staying in touch and visiting and sharing life with my current roommates; yet packing, and leaving, feels impersonal and as if I am cutting all ties. I am not the best at staying in touch; I let myself get too busy and preoccupied with current events. But I do hope that my flurry of packing and leaving is not the end of my time here.

Speed Racer

Ha ha, not quite I guess. I ran three miles earlier tonight in 26 minutes and some change. I broke the 9 minute mile mark. This was a nice little goal and I just broke it. Yippee!

unfinished thoughts

Who am I?

I am not of this world, yet I find myself entangled in it.
I am not fully devoted to God, yet I find myself yearning for this.

I am surrounded by people at various stages in their walk…young and passionate for Jesus…older and seasoned…older and young in the faith…young and a veteran in prayer and spiritual warfare…those who live their lives in ministry…those whose faith is a second thought…those who give of themselves to others without thinking of the cost…those who call themselves by a name but whose lives do not reflect it.

Who am I? I seem to waffle between many of those, longing to identify myself as one or another but feeling as though I can’t live up to it. Longing to live my life in devotion and prayer and purity but feeling my weaknesses and selfishness guiding me down less noble paths. I know who I want to be, but my "flesh" fights a convincing battle against that goal.

Is it a goal? A resolution? A destination? A journey…one that I find myself on in various stages any given day. Step forward, step back. Step aside and play in the thicket on the side of the path, not going either direction...

mold me shape me

Remold me, reshape me... again...

Come to Jesus

I have this in my heart today...a simple call...

Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus)

Weak and wounded sinner

Lost and left to die

O, raise your head, for love is passing by

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus

Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted

And carried far away

And precious blood has washed away the stain, so

Sing to Jesus

Sing to Jesus

Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby

Don't be afraid to crawl

And remember when you walk sometimes we fall...so

Fall on Jesus

Fall on Jesus

Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely

And steep and filled with pain

So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then

Cry to Jesus

Cry to Jesus

Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over

And music fills the night

And when you can't contain your joy inside, then

Dance for Jesus

Dance for Jesus

Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat

Kiss the world goodbye

Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus

Fly to Jesus and live!

A walk down amnesia lane

Ok my brother came up with that one...but speaking of my brother, I found these really old family pics that are just a trip...

These are my parents, I think after they got engaged:

Us in all our flattering gorgeous glory, I'm guessing this was around my glorious jr. high years, or around 1992 or 93? (Don't know where Travis was, but he was probably smart to get out of the picture):

Ha, this must have been around 2000, Christmas (the only time of year we take these pictures, and the only time of year we are all this pasty!) :

And this is from June, from Lindy's wedding! See, we all turned out ok! :) Fun.

schooooool's out for summer!

Had my last class last night! All done for a whole month (that sounds like an eternity right about now). Let's go surfing!

Need a Rx

My jeans pockets are a medicine cabinet. I have been getting my headaches again, so on top of all the other regulars (synthroid, multi-vitamin, glucosamine) I have Excedrin migraine and Advil (which I am now basically immune to but still helps with regular muscle aches—and no I don’t take the two together!) and my pockets are nearly bulging with pills. A few months ago I was sick and I added three antibiotic pills and two cold pills daily to my pocket stash. No wonder I feel nauseous sometimes, including right now…or that could be the chocolate cake on the kitchen counter that forced me to eat it for breakfast…or the general lack of sleep I’ve been an innocent victim of over the last two weeks…or perhaps my daily morning combination of waking up too early, running, being too hot, trying to dry and flat iron my hair in my hot house while dripping with sweat and passing out in front of the fan every 30 seconds. Nausea, hot flashes, headaches, there must be some kind of pill I can take for all of that.

I thought I was a nerd?!

94% scored higher (more nerdy), and 6% scored lower (less nerdy).
What does this mean? Your nerdiness is: Definitely not nerdy, you are probably cool.


Interesting. I think this mostly means I don't know a lot of the basic information that I should have learned in high school chemistry and history. :)

I should have known. I don't use words like "whilst" or "caveat" or "soporific'; I don't collect anything and I don't know the first thing about computer programming or vulcans. Still I feel a little blindsided by the whole thing, a little...disappointed. :)

My blog & the life of Christ

Yes, I can make those two topics go together.

I’m bored with my blog. If I’m boring myself it can’t be that interesting for others either! :) Today I made a new blog banner perhaps to inspire myself to write more exciting things. Like, yesterday driving home on surface streets I saw 5 different shoes in the middle or on the side of the road. Why are there single shoes on the street? How do people lose their shoes while driving??? And wouldn’t they notice they are missing one shoe and go back and get it? You can’t very easily leave or go someplace without a shoe…I would think you would notice you were only wearing one.

I’m in my last week of summer school, taking the class “Life of Christ.” It has been good to fill in the other gospels with Matthew’s depiction of Jesus’ ministry. :) But aside from noticing how different gospel writers portray particular events of his life, it has felt like a Bible study. For four hours at a time, two evenings a week. I like Bible studies. I’ve just never paid $1200 for a 5 week one. I might look into teaching one of those; could be quite lucrative! Matthew anyone? Oh, wait…we just did that.

I have a new goal for my summer: I want to watch as many Jesus movies as I can find. Watching clips in my class has given me a good start:


(The Visual Bible: Matthew - "Happy Jesus")

Claymation; I love this one! We didn't watch it in class, nor do I really put it in the same class as the other ones with real actors, but I've been a fan of this for a few years. :)

Gospel of John - the best portrayal of Jesus that we've seen in class. He gets angry, he yells at Pharisees, yet he is compassionate and patient. Can't wait to watch the whole thing.



Also we have Pier Pasolini's "young angry" Jesus ("The Gospel According to St. Matthew" - description according to my professor); the recent and pretty liberal made for TV "Jesus - The Greatest Story Ever Told"; "Jesus of Nazareth"; etc.

I'm mostly curious as to how each one portrays Jesus. The Matthew video (pictured above) is the portrayal of the happy sentimental Sunday school Jesus we grew up with who hugs everyone and giggles as he asks Peter, "Are you still so dull??" Sigh. Maybe somewhere in the middle of all the Jesuses represented, perhaps with pieces from each character, will be a person somewhat like the one that really was. Hmm--I'll keep you posted. :)

Fun with the water camera...

CATALINA - JULY 14

What a great day...

Emerald Bay

Two Harbors

Just a day at the beach... (yesterday!)

No surfing allowed...body boarding will have to do :)

You can bet I got clobbered about a half second after snapping this picture...
but it was worth it. :)

Something I never thought I'd buy...

Ever bought your own birthday cake? I am in charge of birthdays and anniversaries at our monthly staff meetings, and we always celebrate with cake. Today was our meeting...and my birthday. I thought it a little ridiculous that I had to buy my own birthday cake, and since no one else has a birthday this month, I decided to do it just the way I like it: specially made for me, chocolate cake, chocolate filling, chocolate frosting, with cute decorations and my name on it. Hmmph. :)

It was VERY yummy.

a new home.

I just wanted to share...this is a first:

Matthew is ON THE BOOKSHELF!!!! Not on the floor, not on my desk, not anywhere near my computer or bed waiting to be read or typed out of! :) I hope it likes its new home; it does have some friends. (The scary thing is I have read two of those three commentaries in their entirety -- the two biggest.)

The ESV notes are due to the publisher in August...not sure if that's going to happen but at least my part is done. There was mention of another commentary project due in 2007 or 08 or something...I am going to have to think LONG and HARD before I say...NO...to that one. This has been a great opportunity, I've learned so much, and it's really made me appreciate the gospels and the life of Christ so much more. But I think it's too much while I'm in school.

I tend to forget the bad memories and retain the good -- someone please remind me in a couple months when I'm considering more commentary work that it was way more work than I ever imagined and that my back and neck hurt right now from spending so much time leaning over the book and the computer, and that I have completely alienated my roommates because I spend all my time at home shut up in my room. (By then this will all have worn off and I'm likely to say yes again because it IS such an awesome opportunity...actually already it's not seeming too bad...help.) :)

New apartment!!!

Yay, good things happen when I trust and wait, instead of getting all worked up and panicked. :) Kristin and I found a place to live today. Move date is August 12. Very thankful. :)

about me

Someone sent me this...and I have nothing else interesting to post about. :)

What were you doing 10 years ago:
The summer of ’96 … the summer before my senior year of high school. I can’t remember if that was a Mexico mission trip or the China one that year.
What were you doing 1 year ago:
Ha. Not much diffferent than I’m doing now – summer school and work!
Name five snacks you enjoy:
- Golden Spoon
- york peppermint patties
- chips and salsa
- fresh fruit (not melon – BLEH!)
- Nature Valley fruit & nut bars!
Name five things you would do with a million dollars:
Really, I think a million is a little excessive…I always thought I would be happy with around 30-50K, to pay things off and break even after a couple of necessary purchases. :) But if you insist on a million:
- pay off school debt and for the rest of my education
- support missionaries and other organizations
- save/invest
- travel
- buy a condo or house
Name five bad habits:
- not balancing my checkbook
- not wearing sunscreen
- hitting “snooze” for an hour every morning
- shopping (well – the impulse buys. Like, I HAD to have that cute purse I bought the other day at JCrew, mostly because I had liked it when it was $88.00, then $49.99, and mostly when it was $14.99! But I still didn’t NEED it. Or those cute blue tennis shoes on the clearance rack the other day…and usually I am not this lucky.)
- waiting until the last minute (I work better under deadlines…really…I do)
Name five things you like to do:
only five?!
- running, mountain biking, and triathlons
- learning
- traveling, mostly missions-related
- sleeping, and I need to do more of this
- hanging out with friends: surfing, biking, shopping, watching movies, laying around, etc. etc. etc.
Name five favorite games or toys:
- mountain bike
- surfboard/boogie board
- Cranium
- badminton, tennis, golf (yes I like golfing, if I have a cart, and if I’m not terrible that day)
- the Celebrity Name Game! If you’ve ever ridden in a car with me for more than an hour, you know what this is (and the mere mention of it probably strikes fear and dread into your heart!!)

8 miles tonight

1:18:48
I feel really good. Weather was perfect (started right around 8pm when it had cooled off), scenery was nice (Seal Beach), company was always good (who else would run 8 miles with me but Noah)...I love running...I feel great, and I've started to get excited about running longer distances. I switched back to my old shoes because they are a half size bigger, and it does wonders. Kneecaps a little sore while running, but fine afterward.

:)

It is FINISHED!

I just finished my Matthew notes for the ESV study bible and sent them off to my buddy Mike Wilkins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 4th of July! :)

Fabber's Surf 'n' Sail

Is it July yet??? Barely...June was a VERY long month! Frankly I'll be glad to see July fly by (minus my birthday!); summer school and wrapping up the Matthew project--and on my way to a free month of August before the next semester starts! (Will it really be "free"? It never turns out that way. I'm not even sure how I'm going to handle having no homework, bible study curriculum, or commentary stuff hanging over my head for the first time in 2 years...most likely as soon as I feel used to it, school will start again!)

Also hoping to move August 1st...provided we find a place in time! Could use your prayers on that. We need something affordable, that we feel comfortable and safe in, in a convenient location... :)

Today we went down to San Onofre, one of the top surfing spots in California. Supposedly someone got a picture of me actually in the water on my board, but who knows if I'll ever see that!! If I do you know it's going on my blog! I got up to my knees today, then rode the wave straight into the rocky beach and raked my knees along the bottom for awhile. I have the wounds to prove it! But it was fun, I'm slowly getting more confident out there.

Then we took Noah's boat out for the inaugural sail of the season! It was nice and peaceful...nothing like being in a sailboat in the middle of the water to to relax you. Yay for summer!

P.S. My nickname has somehow become "Fabber" ... ?! :) I guess I said "fabby!" one too many times.