a happy note :)

* this evening, my bike was returned to me! i just happened to see it leaning against the wall i left it at before it was---uh, borrowed without asking. i wonder about the person who took it and returned it; was that their intention the whole time? where did they go once they had my bike? were they too racked by guilt to keep it? what has murray (my bicycle,) been up to these last few days?
not that i really care too much, i'm just happy to be a girl with a bike again!

* in one month from yesterday i'll probably being recieving flowers from my dear friend morgan. morgan is convinced that my roommate and i will be dating two specific boys we know and ,uhhumm, like. i would not mind dating this certain someone sometime soon, but won't be shocked to find that come march 23rd i'll be handed a lovely bouquet by morgan because he hasn't asked me out.
though, if morgan was right i'll owe her some flowers, and that's money i wouldn't mind spending!

now for less girly (?) blogging, here's what i'm obsessed with right now:
_songs:
- You and I, Ingrid Michaelson
- Folding Chair, Regina Spector
{i've been listening to those 1st two back to back over &over &over again!}
- Walking the Dog, Fun
- Tune Out and On Your Porch, both by The Format
- Haven't Met You Yet, Michael Buble
_blogging maybe
_serving others by cooking and baking for them
_$5 mustard yellow cardigan from target, which my roomie adriane also owns and loves
_the R.L Stien book my friend christie told me to read
_Helen Keller's autobiography
_telling everyone my bicycle is back & riding it around

ps....

JUST A GIRL WITHOUT A BIKE...

_I just lost my wallet last night, with all important cards in it except for the replacement school id i got last week. There is also the small possibility it was stolen since our 'livingroom' door was unlocked and open when I woke up this morning. BUT one thing I earned from this is how loving and generous the women from my NorthPoint Bible study are! :)

_My bike was stolen. Yep, the one I got for free that I tied a metal shower basket to with zip ties... here's a picture of a happier time:

I should have not forgotten to lock it up over the weekend, but some mean person should also not have taken it. It was a ghetto bike, but it was MY ghetto bike!

_I got my roommate hooked on one of my fav shows, Dead Like Me. guess that's what you get when you make fun of the tv i watch ;)

_Release 2010 is going on and it's so exciting! my prayer: let God's love be known throughout this campus and reach over with abundance to Africa... In Jesus' name, Amen!

_two of the funniest pranks have been pulled on me by Andrew James, Ashley Nicole, Jessie Mae, and Sam Brown in the last month. including but not limited to: pecans in my pillow cases, drawers,& clothes. my giant stuffed animal duck drawn over the shower curtain rod. sick rob pattinson poster stuck above my bed. knick-knacks from my desk stuck upside down beneath its shelf.

_I hate knowing that I used to be so much better at writing than I am now; sorry if this bloggie is a bit lame/painful to read...

_

knock, knock, knocking on heaven's doorrr

just about one week ago God revealed something pretty cool to me; this is about the 3rd draft of this post about that Sunday....

Four of my friends and I [looked for a picture of all of us together but one doesn't exist] drove down to Phoenix last(?) Saturday for a short vacay in the sun, complete with an overnight visit to Andy Liem's Gammy and attening service at a charasmatic ("Of, relating to, or being a type of Christianity that emphasizes personal religious experience and divinely inspired powers, as of healing, prophecy, and the gift of tongues", according to thefreedictionary.com,) church that we had heard about.

I definitely believe the Holy Spirirt manifests itself in those ways- actually, I know that. BUT, I still had never been to such a churchI am from a conservative, Lutheran-ish church and clapping my hands during worship is a big step for me....so for our visit to Heaven's Place (the name of the church,) I was excited, anxious, and nervous!

We entered the one room, pale yellow church a few minutes after service had begun. Two women were at the front, leading worship with their singing and a keyboard. A man with a spider and its web tatooed on his face welcomed us in with "God bless you's" , a handshake, and a warm smile as a woman did the same with a pat on the back. So we were a little more at ease by the welcoming hearts saturating the small space (or, at least I was.)

Most everything was new to me- massive hand clapping, unstoppable laughter from the incredible woman pastor from South Africa, lotsa hand raising, worship through the repetition of the words "bubble, double, bubble, bubble, double..." (you get the point,) prophesying (when the pastor prophesied over me i cried...), casting out demons and spirits, and pastoral prayer for individuals after the sermon!

Half way through the service God made me see beauty in this place; these people have a love for Jesus just like me. Their ways of worship, prayer, and teaching are beautiful because they are reaching out to God and completely open to the Holy Spirit. It was like attending church in a language you recognize but don't speak fluently; not knowing enough to really keep up, just enough to understand the jist of what's going on...

Super Bowl weekend

[i actually started writing this out last night so it falls under the scheduling category of "Sunday: Nice Things", as in something random i just had to post]

no more than 15min after i arrive home, my mama finds me sobbing on the floor of our kitchen.
i have to spill my guts to her.


*rewind: friday night i walk into the house after my 2hr drive from school. my puppy dog jumps on me, tail wagging, tongue out. my mom is sitting on the living room couch and is quieter than usual but happy to see me. my dad warned me that this had been a rough week for her.



i begin noticing the old newspapers littering the room. on my way to the restroom i see the kitchen dirty with old plates and a coupla pizza boxes on the counter.



returning to the living room i find that my dad is home, now sitting with my mom. just as i begin looking forward to one of my mom's yummy home cooked meals, the 'rents ask me what i want from arby's. great, fast food- something no one in my family needs any more of.


tearing up, i slip away to the kitchen. this house seems to be reflecting what i feared my family's trapped by: personal apathy. a real mess. depression. shame.


my heart breaks, praying and longing for my parents and brother to be healed by Jesus.


i also feel guilt for being able to escape this, living a few hours away in my nice clean dorm surrounded by friends, having Jesus to help me through everything.



so i tell my mom why i'm crying. she reminds me that the house is a mess and she isn't feeling well because she had major knee surgery last week.
so she hasn't just given up on...everything. relief streams through me- the situation isn't so bleak.


**fast forward to saturday afternoon: my dad and i are driving through Maryvale- the ghetto neighborhood where we both grew up- on the way to visit more family. he always gets nostalgic around here.


so i had to ask:
*did my 'Catholic' grandma actually go to church?
dad: she did- she did all those sacrements. but no, not after she got married. [my heart sinks]
me: oh.
dad: but she did pray every night. and your grandpa didn't like churches, but i know he believed in God. and he was always kind to others, he would do anything for a complete stranger. and us kids went to Sunday school sometimes, with our friends and we chose whether we wanted to go. but i just wanted to play....i wonder what church i'll be going to, you know, when you become a minister.
me: speechless...........



"As in water face reflects face,
So a man's heart reveals the man" Proverbs 27:19


God knows people's hearts; this comforts me. He provides hope, and after the dark weekend my hope for my family has been renewed.

"I wish I was at an Arby's 'cause there's better food and cooler people there! "

this week's movie review...

Baby Mama [if you couldn't guess from the quote]
verdict: i love it.
one of my favorite movies ever- i could watch it like twice a week for the rest of my life and never get bored with it! (uh-oh, i also said that about School of Rock in the 10th grade and i now can't bare to watch it more than twice a year.) but really, this movie is sooo funny! nearly every line could serve as a great 'one liner'...i think. and i love the fashion. and i even love the storyline... :}

suggestion: watch the movie with friends on a lazy Sunday afternoon after church and lunch! aside from the initial viewing in theatres, it's perhaps my new favorite way to watch a film ;)

warning: for thursday movie reviews i'll probably rarely do an actual review of a new release. either personal favorites or movies that i hated. why would i bother to write a lukewarm review? pointless, so i won't.

*side note? : maybe it's because it's late and i'm exhausted or maybe it's cause i'm obsessed, but i think a movie based on the hit show Glee sounds fantastic. no, after typing that i think not. not at all. i just miss Glee and was desperate for a way to express that in tonight's post...sorry for being a foo'.