Currently Listening The Purest Place By Watermark Soli Deo Gloria see related

have you ever:

wished you didn't know something?

felt absolutely powerless & useless?

wished you could fix all the problems in the world--or at least yours and someone close to you?

felt like life is either absolutely wonderful or absolutely overwhelming?

missed someone so much it made you cry every other day?

The top 3 reasons I frequently dislike being a girl:

1) How much work it takes to "look nice" (applying make-up, styling hair, various hair removals, etc.)

2) How expensive it is to do the work to look nice (hair products, MAKE-UP!, equipment, etc.)

3) How much more difficult it is for the average girl to lose weight than the average boy

Notice PMS, being emotional, and childbearing did not make the list. (However, I reserve the right to add childbearing after I have my first child.)

I embrace being feminine; I just haven't learned to embrace all the "normal" things being considered completely feminine requires. I'm trying to learn, though. I love baking, cooking, cleaning, sewing, etc., but I dislike all the physical maintenance that is required.

Now that I think about it, I also dislike the fact that guys/boys/men expect us to do all these things and look certain ways but then continually give girls a hard time about taking a long time to get ready or having to pack so much for a trip. Fortunately, my boyfriend is wonderful about expressing appreciation for the effort, which is so encouraging to me. His appreciation greatly boosts my desire to do these things and become "more feminine."

Currently Listening Dizzy up the Girl All Eyes On Me see related

The Scare but Excitement of Change

This morning I have talked to a friend, received an e-mail from the mom of two of my childhood friends , and read a Xanga entry of another childhood friend all concerning changes in life... The first friend and her husband will be moving from Waco to Maryland tomorrow, one of the twins just had a baby last month and will be moving from Winnie to Alabama next week, the other twin has just become engaged and will find out today whether or not she has gotten a teaching job, and the last friend has experienced so many changes in life and thoughts over the last 2 years...

All of these friends are ones that I never really keep consistent contact with but with whom I will ALWAYS feel a special bond and hope to never be completely uninformed about their lives. They are also friends with whom I know I will always be able to have a real conversation with and never have to "just make small talk."

I'm so excited about all the changes that are taking place in these friends' lives and happy for them, but at the same time these changes make me reflect on my own life.

My initial thought was, "Man, I wish some of these changes were happening in my life. Things haven't really changed for me in a while." However, I quickly realized that my life has been changing more than I realize. I guess sometimes it's harder to recognize changes because one does things he or she must when "life happens."

In the last 8 months, I have had to change my major, had an internship that showed me I really hated what I thought I would enjoy as a career, taken on more financial responsibilities, been convicted to search for a new church home, grown a lot spiritually, and--last but not least--started and developed a strong relationship with the man of my dreams! Within the next year I will start a job, start a new major, graduate, probably quit a job and start a new one, move, become financially independent of my parents, find yet another church home, and much more ! That's a LOT of change for a little over a year and a half! I'm so excited about everything happening, but sometimes the changes are so overwhelming and cause that "heavy pressure" feeling in my chest along with deep emotion. (I have come to realize in the past few months just how much more emotional I am than I like to admit...  + )

All I can really say is that life is truly beautiful, and God is so unbelievably amazing!

Ecclesiastes 3:1

To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven

My boyfriend is sooooooooooooooooooooo wonderful!

I  Sean!

Sometimes the night was beautiful
Sometimes the sky was so far away
Sometimes it seemed to stoop so close
You could touch it but your heart would break
Sometimes the morning came too soon
Sometimes the day could be so hot
There was so much work left to do
But so much You'd already done

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

Sometimes I think of Abraham
How one star he saw had been lit for me
He was a stranger in this land
And I am that, no less than he
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach

Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

~Rich Mullins