i am thankful for Jesus

because of his love for me. Because, no matter what, he never stops calling my name.

I am thankful for Jesus because he cares about the things that are important to me, no matter how silly they are, and he goes out of his way to show me that.

I am thankful for Jesus because he trusts me enough to share his heart and his vision with me.

I am thankful for Jesus because he always knows just the right thing to say and he says it at just the right time. He isn't afraid to correct me or confront me about the ugliness in my heart, but he always speaks to me with love because he is making me beautiful.

I am thankful for Jesus because he puts a smile on my face, he makes me laugh.

I am thankful for Jesus because he doesn't hide from me, he always tells the truth.

I am thankful for Jesus because he lets me love him.

i guess Chris was right!

So some of you will remember this quote from fellow Transit-er Chris Berry: "Everything green comes from Ireland." I guess he was right, but not only that, apparently everything in Ireland is green as well. How do I know? Well, yesterday I was watching Jack's Big Music Show.And there was a guest singer, Rebekah Jordan, who had "just come back from Ireland." She sang a song for Jack, Mary, and Mel so they could hear what Irish music sounded like. That is when I learned that not only are the mountains, trees, rivers, collies, and sheep in Ireland all green, but if I dress completely in green and dye my hair green then everyone will know that I'm from Ireland too!

And on top of all that, apparently Barack Obama is Irish too!

So, I don't know if anyone pays attention to what I'm reading or not. But I started a book called TrueFaced the other day and just decided I didn't want to read it. I've learned what it has to say already. So I returned it at the Christian bookstore I used to work at and got my first Rob Bell book. (You can see it to the right in my currently reading list.) I've never read Rob Bell, his books never grabbed me before. But this one did. I've been thinking a lot about exile recently and noticed that this book has some themes of exile in it.

In other news I'm going out tonight to hear one of my favorite bands. They are not my favorite band of all time, but they are my favorite band to hear live and some of their songs are my absolute favorites. I'm very happy!!! Oh, they are called Over the Rhine. Check them out, they're awesome!

a superficial post

My birthday presents:

I actually got this in a different color/print, but they don't have the one I got online. It's black with a brown, blue, and red florally/paiselyish print.

I am also going to get my hair cut, but haven't yet.

the last battle

"A good deal of Puzzle's grey nose and face could be seen through the open mouth of the lion's head. No one who had ever seen a real lion would have been taken in for a moment. But if someone who had never seen a lion looked at Puzzle in his lionskin, he just might mistake him for a lion, if he didn't come too close, and if the light was not too good, and if Puzzle didn't let out a bray and didn't make any noise with his hoofs."

"His name was King Tirian, and he was between twenty and twenty-five years old; his shoulders were already broad and strong and his limbs, full of hard muscle, but his beard was still scanty. He had blue eyes and a fearless, honest face." (King Tirian is my Narnian crush.)

"'Do you think I care if Aslan dooms me to death?' sad the King. 'That would be nothing, nothing at all. Would it not be better to be dead than to have this horrible fear that Aslan had come and is not like the Aslan we have believed in and longed for? It is as if the sun rose one day and were a black sun.'"

"As soon as Tirian saw that she was the best pathfinder of the three of them he put her in front. And then he was astonished to find how silently and almost invisibly she glided on before them.
'By the Mane!' he whispered to Eustace. 'This girls is a wondrous wood-maid. If she had Dryad's blood in her she could scarce do better.'
'She's so small, that's what helps,' whispered Eustace. But Jill from in front said: 'S-s-s-h, less noise.'"

"'What are you doing, Sire?' asked Jewel sharply.
'Drawing my sword to smite off the head of the accused Ass,' said Tirian in a terrible voice. 'Stand clear, girl.'
'Oh don't, please don't,' said Jill. 'Really, you musn't. It wasn't his fault. It was all the Ape. He didn't know any better. And he's very sorry. He's a nice donkey. His name's Puzzle. And I've got my arms round his neck.'
'Jill,' said Tirian, 'you are the bravest and most woodwise of all my subjects, but also the most malapert and disobedient. Well: let the Ass live. What have you to say for yourself, Ass?'"

"They drank from a stream, splashed their faces with water, and tumbled into their bunks, except for Puzzle and Jewel who said they'd be more comfortable outside. This perhaps was just as well, for a Unicorn and a fat, full-grown donkey indoors always make a room feel rather crowded."

"'Well, at any rate there's no Humbug here. We haven't let anyone take us in. The Dwarfs are for the Dwarfs.'
'You see,' said Aslan. 'They will not let us help them. They have chosen cunning instead of belief. Their prison is only in their own minds, yet they are in that prison; and so afraid of being taken in that they can not be taken out.'"

"Everyone except Aslan jumped back from the ice-cold air which now blew through the Doorway. Its edges were already covered with icicles.
'Peter, High King of Narnia,' said Aslan. 'Shut the Door.'
Peter, shivering with cold, leaned out into the darkness and pulled the Door to. It scraped over ice as he pulled it. Then, rather clumsily (for even in that moment his hands had gone numb and blue) he took out a golden key and locked it.
They had seen strange things enough through that Doorway. But it was stranger than any of them to look round and find themselves in warm daylight, the blue sky above them, flowers at their feet, and laughter in Aslan's eyes."

"'Then he breathed upon me and took away the trembling from my limbs and caused me to stand upon my feet. And after that, he said not much but that we should meet again, and I must go further up and further in. Then he turned him about in a storm and flurry of gold and was gone suddenly.
'And since then, O Kings and Ladies, I have been wandering to find him and my happiness is so great that it even weakens me like a wound. And this is the marvel of marvels, that he called me, Beloved, me who am but as a dog-'"

"'Isn't it wonderful?' said Lucy. 'Have you noticed one can't feel afraid, even if one wants to? Try it.' 'By Jove, one can't,' said Eustace after he had tried."

"And there was greeting and kissing and handshaking and old jokes revived (you've no idea how good an old joke sounds when you take it out again after a rest of five or six hundred years)"

"Then Aslan turned to them and said: 'You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be.' ...And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them."

This is an interesting fact I've just realized: Our 44th President was elected in the 44th week of the year. 44 is an important number to me. Wonder what's going to come of this? Rick Joyner has an interesting article here which I think it would do everyone well to read. That's all.

today is my 26th birthday: i am 26 years old today

I hope you are all enjoying yourselves as much as I am.
(holding my free Starbucks and pointing at my "I voted" sticker.)

I shall not keep you long. I have called you all together for a Purpose. Indeed for three Purposes! First of all, to tell you that I am immensely fond of you all, and that 26 years is too short a time to live amongst such excellent and admirable people. I don't know half of you so well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. (That isn't necessarily true.) Secondly, to celebrate my birthday. And thirdly... well actually, as I don't plan to disappear, that's it!

And later I'm getting free Ben and Jerry's!

to remember

This is my friend Stephen. He is in costume as Super Guy, a character he became for the kids ministry at our church. Six years ago today Stephen died in a horrible car accident. He was 23. More than anyone I have ever known Stephen lived a life full of Jesus. He was always encouraging, always spurring us on to go harder after God.

I always think it interesting that Stephen died on November 1st. All Saint's Day. A day that historically has been set aside to remember the followers of Christ who have gone ahead of us. Those who have triumphed over this life and are enjoying being with Jesus in the next.

I often say these verses from Hebrews chapter 12 to myself. They come right at the beginning, after chapter 11 where we have been told again the stories of so many who followed after God, many of them despite never seeing a fulfillment of what he promised:

"Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!"


I guess what I want to say, to myself more than anyone, is, "COME ON!" "Don't quit, don't grow weary while doing good. Go hard after God. Don't stop, keep pushing, it's going to be worth it." And if I listen hard enough I can hear Stephen saying the same thing.

a few things

I just have a few random things I want to say because this is the first time I've been online on my computer in at least 3 weeks and I've been storing up all this stuff. Its all very sporadic and out of order and the pictures are blurry. Please, bear with me!

So, my birthday is coming up, actually it's on Tuesday, and my favorite store, anthropologie, sent me a little gift. Isn't it cute? There's a little fabric envelope that says, "so" and then you open it and a little card is sticking out that says, "celebrate" and then you get 15% off an entire purchase for your birthday. Isn't that happy?

Next, I've decided to make a blanket from fabric remnants leftover from coats my grandma made us all when we were little. Here you can see one of my coats:

And here are all the patches after I cut them up:

And here they all are layed out all over my brother's bedroom floor. (Don't worry, he's away at college.) There won't be any white in between the squares and the back is going to be navy and black flannel, cause that's what I've got and I will not quilt it because it will be too stiff but I might sew some big black buttons on in random places to help hold the back and front together.

This is a picture of the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin that I took in September.

This is a picture I drew for Rosie back in Guildford in July. If flowers were clouds, then clouds would be ducks!

And you definitely know that the election needs to be over when I receive not one but two flyers urging me to protect my gun rights by voting for a particular party. I guess they don't realize that I'm one of those weird Americans who doesn't have an arsenal in the basement!