my 100 for 2008

1. ran a mile in under 6 minutes

2. fell asleep in the movie theatre (on new year’s eve)

3. went on a blind date

4. made a homemade pizza

5. limo ride to eischen’s

6. gave my shirt away

7. got my first full time job

8. took an ice bath

9. lived in a beach house for a week

10. went to 11 different countries in one day (epcot J)

11. gave up sweets/desserts for a year

12. ran out of the blocks in 100m/200m at first ever track meet

13. saw preserved human bodies without skin

14. went to the zoo with my 4th grader

15. rode my bike to the farmer’s market

16. stood next to a man as he died

17. made an offer on a house

18. dragged tires

19. signed paperwork for my first house

20. got a tattoo (temporary J)

21. went to a movie by myself

22. got an Indian taco at the okc arts festival

23. made a fruit pizza

24. made the walk from old central

25. walked the stage to get my college diploma

26. helped light up trees for brett’s proposal

27. saw cher perform live

28. got a rose from cirque du soleil boy

29. watched the fountains at the bellagio

30. got my first massage

31. sat in a sauna, herbal steam, and ice room

32. jumped on the hotel bed

33. got sunburned at caesar’s palace

34. painted my kitchen yellow

35. got a roommate and lost the same roommate in the same month

36. spent the night at my first house alone

37. joined church’s missions committee

38. got my first full-time job paycheck

39. failed the NCLEX

40. passed the NCLEX

41. hosted a lingerie party at my house

42. went to the 50cent movies

43. adopted a puppy named rocky

44. bought a $400 couch

45. worked 6 out of 7 days straight

46. balanced my checkbook

47. paid bills

48. coordinated Perspectives

49. made blueberry pancakes

50. drinks on tuesday nites with the girls

51. bought measuring cups for my future sister-in-law

52. got my RN license

53. ate at a sit-down restaurant by myself

54. worked my first night shift

55. did chest compressions on a man

56. painted my nails black

57. sang in a wedding

58. dressed like a Muslim

59. became a landlord

60. did 1000 crunches at one time

61. saw Marc Broussard at the House of Blues in Dallas

62. started my Christmas shopping the week before Christmas

63. slept in a cabin with some junior high girls

64. watched the OKC Thunder win a game

65. painted my nails gray

66. got a new dishwasher

67. fell off my bike and rolled down a hill while taking Rocky for a run

68. got interrupted talking to a cute guy by a dog with 2 legs walking upright between us

69. worked Christmas eve and New Years Eve

70. learned to play a game with no rules

71. up at night, sleep in the day

72. read some books for pleasure

73. enjoyed a glass of wine by the fire

74. shopped at the plaza in Kansas city

75. ate a whole pizza by myself

76. got really sick from eating a whole pizza by myself

77. attempted to learn Arabic

78. made a smoothie with the magic bullet

79. recovered some chairs and made pillows

80. tried to stick my fist in my mouth

81. got my resting heart rate down to 51 bpm

82. drinks in the hot tub

83. tried to teach my dog a few tricks

84. got a 4-pack

85. entered in a contest to win a new car, but didn’t win

86. started the Friends DVD collection

87. got a fish named Willis

88. lunch club with lovely friends

89. bought sushi at an asian market

90. reminisced at the OKC National Memorial

91. ate at Somewhere Else Deli

92. smoked out my living room trying to start a fire

93. played a board game involving balancing your checkbook

94. got Chinese takeaway from a mom and pop place

95. discovered GMail Video chats

96. laughed until my stomach hurt

97. spur of the moment trip to Houston and back in one day

98. barbequed in my backyard

99. made some amazing new friends

100. thanked God for the everyday gift of life!

mele kalikimaka!

so, christmastime. i think of peppermint sticks, pine trees, hot cocoa, dirty santa, scarves, ice skating downtown, besides the obvious. i want to celebrate the season for what it truly means...

one of my favorite christmas songs is "mary, did you know?" mainly because i try to picture a young girl, holding this precious baby, knowing that God favored her and blessed her with a son who would reign over the house of David, his kingdom never ending. 

mary, did you know...

that your baby boy will one day walk on water

that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters

that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man

that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand

that your baby boy has walked where angels trod

that your baby boy is the lord of all creation

that your baby boy will one day rule the nations

that your baby boy is heaven's perfect lamb

when you kiss your baby boy, you've kissed the face of God

mary had great faith, she sang about her joy in the Lord, giving credit to him, acknowledging his mercy extended to those who fear him. the Lord kept his promise to remain faithful to israel, thus preserving the line of christ. 

it's only because of the lord's promise and those faithful to carry on in obedience that we can be adopted into the line of christ! i look forward to that kingdom never ending...

joy the explorer

my mom, the world traveler. she has officially been to 6 of the world's 7 continents. she has seen more of the world than most. i received this text message from my mom on my parent's most recent travel adventure through cairo: "

we just went on a camel ride and saw the sphynx!"

not fair, mom and dad! take me next time!

watch your thoughts; they become words.
  watch your words; they become actions.
watch your actions; they become habits.
  watch your habits; they become character.
            watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
- frank outlaw

jackpot!

so how likely is it to win the lottery? how likely is it to win a contest of any sorts? this is a question i've been asking myself recently. see, there was an advertisement in the newspaper the other day that they are giving away a new vw jetta on november 27th. so i click on the link, enter my information, and "thanks for entering..." so really, come on, what are the chances of me actually winning this stupid car? i've found myself going back to this site and plugging in my info as often as i think about it. so, despite the actual statistical chance of me winning, somebody wins. this somebody that wins is gonna be thinking, "wow, i didn't think i'd actually win this!" so what if that somebody was me? i guess we'll see...

wedding season

well it seems like it's been wedding season for awhile now. i look back as many of my close friends and my brother have gotten married recently, and it's exciting to see how God draws his people together. when two can serve together better than one can serve alone, God is glorified.

at my brother's wedding, the pastor officiating took the time to explain the vows more in depth and the promises you are making when you repeat the vows on your wedding day. "i, _____, take you ______, to be my wedded husband/wife. to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, 'till death do us part. and hereto i pledge you my faithfulness." these vows are not to be taken lightly or in rash judgment.

the symbolism of christ's love to the church is a model for how a husband and wife should live out their relationship. now we are nowhere near perfect, but when our love gets tired, christ gives us strength. when our love grows impatient, christ gives us understanding. when our love is tested, christ refines us with fire to become pure and holy before him. a new picture of christ's love is evident in marriage, and i pray blessings for my newly married friends. may you see your spouse through the love of christ!

brett and claire, cayce and efren, jill and bj, cory and cole, abby and chase, dacia and toby.

do you ever get jealous...

there's so many things here on this earth that i don't understand. in his creative plan, God brought one of his servants home. a young man was killed earlier this week in india. he had flown there with a group of others from here in america to go to this distant land that is full of a harvest needing workers. this team of believers responded in obedience to the command to go and make disciples of all nations.

so why would God bring him home? it's hard to find reasons why a perfectly healthy young man, in the middle of his work for the Lord would leave this earth. in hebrews 11, it talks about the nation of israel that lived and died before the fulfillment of scripture through Christ's coming to the earth. they acted in faith, "saw it from a distance and welcomed the promises of God." they were obedient because they were looking forward to "a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them."

justin's life is a challenge to all of us. when we respond in obedience, God is not ashamed to be called our God. when we respond in obedience, he prepares a heavenly homeland for us. do you ever get jealous of those that are already there? i know that this earth is not my home. i want to respond in obedience, so i can join those who have gone before me. i want to sit in the presence of my king. i get a little jealous sometimes...