more reading

coming back from camping this weekend with my high school students, i am feeling a little defeated spiritually...
essentially the most important thing i have to give is my relationship with Jesus but i never feel solid enough...i want my passion for Jesus to be contagious and rub off on everyone, but i often don't feel excited and giddy about following him myself.
i talked to my friend luis about this a bit, he said that passion for Jesus is present when you follow him in the mundane everyday life, not just the mountain top experiences, i thought that was really profound and helpful...my life feels mundane much more than it feels exuberant and fresh

my kids talked so much about wanting to hear from God...i understand that. i do too, and i often feel disconected, apathetic, etc.

i am reading this book called mystics and mirables... a little racy spiritually if you are into the max lucado type (which i am not) i long for transcendence, and deep communion with God.

"the saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. moderation is not their secret. it is in the wildness of their dreams, the desperate vitality of their ambitions, taht they stand apart fromm ordinary people of good will." phyllis mcginley

cold tangerines

"I want my everyday to make God belly laugh, glad that he gave the life to someone who loves the gift."

i hope i can be refreshing to others, i hope that is closer to the woman i am becoming. C.S. Lewis says we are either moving toward the darkness everyday or towards truth and light i hope i am the latter. why do so many people complain about being bored?? if you think life is boring, if you ever find yourself bored, walk outside, get a hobby, God abundantly created people, community, nature everything...don't say youre bored

Rejoice in the Lord always; again i say Rejoice. - Phil. 4:4

Kelly Clarkson and my glorious weekend...

Baby Sophia!!! i do love babies especially when they are as adorable as this one!


Yes indeedy we did see Kelly...this is just hilarious if you know me : )





Cay and i are always laughing...

i definately don't know how to format this so you'll just have to figure it out! had a wonderful weekend of relaxing, we made blankets, went out to a ridiculously nice dinner and watched an incredible indie film, Bella, and did church as a family on sunday! getting back to school was rather depressing...
and now im working on a paper about spiritual formation and growth!! yay!

when i grow up...

"I'm not too concerned with what i am going to do. i am more interested in who i am becoming. i want to be a lover of God and people." - Shane Claiborne

i found this in my journal from the beginning of school...it is good to remind myself this when school work begins to pile up

wisdom brightens a man's face and changes it's hard appearance. i love this too : )

only the best

im on a sufjan high!!!! more to come later....

have some thoughts in my head...

i will write them down once they formulate and become worth reading : )

i feel like breaks are always too short...fall break? case in point.
i really didn't accomplish much...perhaps that is the point of a break

im super pumped about some new books i got at the library that i have no time to read
The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience- Ronald Sider
Just Generosity- Ronald Sider
The Politics of Jesus- John Howard Yoder
...see where I'm going with these?

then there is crocheting which i have been tenaciously
dabbling with : )
i am slowly but surely becoming the ultimate woman

tommarow i will accomplish much thou...
i'm meeting with my mentor katie, i always learn a wealth of knowledge from this incredible woman!
i have my Riverwoods practicum, i work with at-risk teens in the Elgin Aurora area, this is still so challenging for me even thou i have been there for a full year
lastly after practicum i have an RA hang-out with ohio RA's we have an incredible team, it is a beautiful thing to relax and enjoy the company of others

thoughts by those who think better than I think

"Let's discipline ourselves so that our words are few and full.
Let's become known as people who have something to say when we speak."

i want to live this out, without having to justify my silence.
this will be an obvious urge for me, to feel i have to explain or excuse my quietness.

-quiet girl