just for me

so. quick story. i was sitting on the steps outside the dining hall yesterday, waiting for the kids to enter for lunch. enjoying the gorgeous sunshine, and the laughter and chatting coming from the happy hungry 6th graders. just sitting by myself. no one else was around. just me. and all of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, i see a flicker RIGHT next to me flying in the wind, and i glance over, and there was a beautiful Monarch butterfly, just being swept around by the wind. doing its best to probably make its way to some tree but just getting flipped and carried in the whirling breeze. and for some reason, it was just stuck, dancing around, RIGHT next to me. and i looked around to see if someone else could share this moment with me....but there was no one.
I was the only one to see it....

and in a really cheesy way, sometimes i think that God does that stuff on purpose. That if we look close enough, and can pay attention hard enough, He woos us during our day. He'll do things ONLY for us to see. JUST so that we can have a moment where He can interact with JUST US! I mean, He does love us, so i like to think He loves being intentional enough to be that lover that will occasionally woo me. not because He has to in order to get my attention, but because He wants to. hmm.....

just a simple butterfly. by myself. right at the right time. is enough. if only i was more attentive, i bet there are other times things fly right by me, dancing right in front of me in that moment, waiting for me to take a glance, look over and admire His glory, but i am too busy, or too distracted to even look.

jon foreman is like, my new favorite artist. he is the lead singer of the band switchfoot, but has recently produced a solo collection, and in it, it states the words, so plainly, so simply, but so powerfully,

what are we, if we're not in love?

I need to be more in love.

oh yeah, and this bit my finger today and made me bleed a lot:
Alligator Lizard
















that's all...

ketchup

i wrote this a while ago apparently, but never posted it. so i added to it and here it is....
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wow. where do i start.

these past few months have been amazing. they have been so hard, but also so amazing. to update, after summer ended i took a two week vacation. one week in fresno, one in porterville, and it was good. it was good for me to relax, get my head back on my shoulders and prepare for what will most likely be a pretty interesting new chapter. having that time to slow down i was able to do a lot of thinking. and i thought. alot. i thought about my decision to move from fresno to here. i thought about my college career, i thought about the new friends i have made here, my relationship with this place and how and who i have already established myself to be here. i thought about my relationships with those i left behind in fresno and elsewhere. i thought about the impact they had made on me and i on them. i thought about the past few months and where God has brought me, and also thought about the future and where He is leading me.

sooooo many thoughts i think i thought myself stupid! haha.

but all in all it was very good. it was a good break. coming back for my second semester here at outdoor science is a good feeling. its a feeling of already having so much information and style and experience under my belt that i didn't really need to do much preparing. and up until this point i think that has been somewhat true. there have been places where more preparation has been required of me, but for the most part, i am fairly confident in my understanding of the materials and programs. however. there are so many NEW things that i could never have prepared myself for. like for instance. callan is here. callan is a delight. she is strong and secure and a blessing. and i knew this, in fact, i prepared virtually the entire mountain for her arrival. i am so happy she is here to minister to the people here, myself included, and be ministered to. she is here now, going on coffee dates by herself with the friends that i established relationships with this past summer and more. she is falling right into step, and i wouldn't have it any other way.

it rained over the weekend. probably the best thing that could've happened to us. the first rain, in my new (old) room, was awesome. i think the room i'm in was an add on, it used to be a porch, so the roof and flooring and insulation are somewhat shady. not to mention my outside walls are all windows with no screens. but the rain falling on the roof was the best. it sounds awesome! i know that i'm in for a rainy season here, so i'm excited to listen to it often.

and its been a while. i know this. i have slacked in writing. i feel like i've hit a block for some reason. but once it starts raining and i can't spend my time outside, (and i'm more sentimental :)) then perhaps i'll start writing more.

until then.......