On adam and eve blowin it for all of us

Dear Lifecakes,

      So I have been sick lately. Like the nasty-green-phlegm-scratchy-throat-blowing-my-nose-24/7 kind of sick. It's awesome. What's even more awesome? It messes up my sleep at night and I wake up to a hacking cough or to blow my stuffy noise. NICE! 

I know you are loving this post already. I think a cold like this is def a product of the fall of man. 

What else is a product of the fall? When your jeans get a hole in the inner thigh part. Ladies you know what I am talkin about. It is quite the depressing discovery. Let's just tell ourselves it is because the fabric on the jeans is too thin...

Another fall-of-mankind product: when you unload the dishwasher only to discover half the dishes did not get washed properly and might even still have remains of the food that was previously eaten off of them. We had a cruddy dishwasher at my house in San Diego, and we would always bellow at the devil when we unloaded! BELLOW I SAY. 

Alright, I'm being dramatic. 

Moving on, oh! oh! BIG news: MY ROOM IS CLEAN. haaaahhh!

It looks good, too. Like really good. Like I think my leather desk chair was hitting on my organized closet. I had to tell them no inner room dating. Leather desk chair took it pretty hard, but Liana just reorganized and cleaned out her room, so I think he'll be able to move on.

Also, I made some carrot cake with maple and cream cheese frosting. Can you spell B-O-M-B? 

It was something new for me so I am pleased. My next endeavor--> tackling a chicken chili for Shire dinner!

culinarily yours, 

Kelly

p.s.- ssnnnggmmmmm aacchhhkkkkk...oh sorry that was just my nose and throat being sicknasty still...

On pressing issues

Reasons why cleaning my rooms sucks: 

• lack of fun
• consumes time I could use to sit around and do nothing or be eating or watching my 10974th episode of Gilmore Girls
  
• my room is small and dark & therefore already a less-than-great atmosphere to be in let alone clean
• I'm afraid what I'll find underneath my 20-foot deep pile of clothes
• I don't enjoy doing it (see bullet #1)

Reasons why one shouldn't wear "Jesus is my homeboy" t-shirts:

• it does not make any sense
• it is confusing- is He your homeboy and your Savior? Is He your friend? Do you just think he held good values? 
• It is apathetic- comes close to making a statement of belief, yet doesn't.
• lacks reverence for God
• Pamela Anderson wore it once

                                                          Fin.

On what matters

"I just want to be beautiful". 

        A phrase that I would hazard a guess every female on the planet has thought at one point or another. Okay, large embellishment? Whatever. Regardless of what their idea of beauty is, or in what context, it is still something girls desire to be thought as. Beautiful. Attractive. Desirable. I'm thinking...'worth it'. Or being someone's first choice. Are any of yall feeling this? Are you thinking- "YUP" ?

What a heavy thing to carry around. It's exhausting! Even on my best-looking, most positive outlook day I could still find something wrong, or a reason why some charming dude has not swept me off my feet and declared I am exactly what has been missing from his life. (And if you already have that charming dude, you still want to be beautiful, it doesn't disappear).

        As I struggled with this one evening, I glanced at my bedside table and saw a small piece of paper I had purposefully placed there a week prior; it reads, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God".

Now, maybe what seems more satisfying/like a better solution to glance at is "God thinks you are gorgeous" or "You are beautiful exactly the way you are".

But this is better. I can relax and quit worrying about my outward appearance because it is nothing to do with the kingdom of God. And THAT is what matters and what I should seek after. What a beautiful conviction. It is not selfish. And it is of utmost importance. Such a better focus for me.

On awestruck autumn

Things as of late that have strong associations with autumn and which I have taken joyful part in: 

• strolls through a lovely neighborhood with a friend or two (Margeypoo :)
• breath taking drives with breath taking views of mountains and the breath taking sunsets. I have no breath left. 
• Deep affection for the changing leaves. Best color scheme there is. 
• Hot, homemade, zucchini soup with tomato-herb bread bought at the Harrisonburg farmer's market.
• Apple picking. boom. 
• climbing trees (can be applied to almost any season)
• purchasing new boots-- look out!
•  panera dates/bstud planning with my favorite co-leader
• wafting aroma of my constantly-burning, spiced cranberry candle!

enjoy these splendid photographic representations I have taken

 

On Psalm 63

^LIFE...

¹ You, God, are my God,
   earnestly I seek You;
I thirst for You,
   my whole being longs for You,
in a dry and parched land
   where there is no water.

 ² I have seen You in the sanctuary
   and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
   my lips will glorify You.
⁴ I will praise You as long as I live,
   and in your Name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
   with singing lips my mouth will praise You.

 ⁶ On my bed I remember You;
   I think of You through the watches of the night.
⁷ Because You are my help,
   I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ My soul clings to You;
   your right hand upholds me.

 ⁹ Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
   they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
   and become food for jackals.

 ¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
   all who swear by God will glory in Him,
   while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

On Bodos

Scribbled down whilest in the aforementioned place of rapture [directly taken out of my journal]:

         So, of course, Jesus is my constant source of joy. But, can a pastrami provo on everything bagel from Bodo's be just under that?! I just...I just love food, and this particular meal has 3 of my favorite things- meat, cheese & bread. I just know Paula Deen would love this sandwich. She really would. It has mayonnaise on it! Bodo's makes me feel like a glutton because I can never get enough. It is so filling and yet I could eat another one. I would feel like sh*t afterward but it would be a delicious experience until then. The saddest picture in the world is 1/4 of my bagel left on my tray. Knowing I need to savor these last bites. Would Bodo's hold such a place in my life/heart if there was one in Harrisonburg? I feel like yes...

Bodos is one of the earthly things I hope heaven holds. Along with chick-fil-a, ultimate frisbee, and the banjo.

...pleased even with stumbles

Here is something invaluable that Clive Staples tells us..

        "But the obedience which [God] demands of men is quite a different thing. One must face the fact that all the talk about His love for men, and His service being perfect freedom, is not (as one would gladly believe) mere propaganda, but an appalling truth. He really does want to fill the universe with a lot of loathsome little replicas of Himself- creatures whose life, on its miniature scale, will be qualitatively like His own, not because He has absorbed them but because their wills freely conform to His. [The enemy] wants cattle who can finally become food; He wants servants who can finally become sons." 

Lewis goes on to say this...

"He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles"

*bear in mind the context of The Screwtape Letters, hence the odd vocabulary with 'loathsome' and 'appalling truth'. It is sort of a bad guys point of view. check out the book :)

On current happenings

Dear Life, 

       I went to Dayton Days with Amy, and it was lovely. A chilly day to use an understatement, and yet it was a sign that the season is changing, and I got to bundle up which honestly I enjoy doing sometimes. But, don't mistake me for a lover of winter. Certainly not! It was blissful to stroll down the festival streets with my Shmames and stop at cute stands with hand-made crafts. Gorgeously painted pottery with bright images of trees and country landscapes-- RIGHT down mine and Amy's alley! Hand crafted earrings, homemade candles and maple syrup, uniquely built and painted birdhouses, etc etc. I could use up an entire blog entry on just this "2011 autumn celebration". But I shant. :)

       Leading my small group has been a grand blessing! And as I have heard their hearts, their struggles and their desires for this next year I am whisked back to myself as a freshman. And through leading this small group I have been so encouraged by my own growth. The Lord has given me a glimpse of how far I have come in my process of being a follower of Christ. It is so cool! I wish I could tell these girls, "you're going to be okay! You will learn these things, you will make mistakes but you'll turn out just fine and still in one piece!". I do not know why this season has been somewhat filled with self-confidence and just more assurance in who I am, but I am truly thankful to God for it. NEAT-O!

progressingly yours, 

Kelly

p.s.- Cheers! to a spiced cranberry candle that brings a whole new meaning to autumn aromas!