I Miss Athens

With the countdown at less than a week, I’m getting super anxious to get back to Athens. My “back to school” shopping is done.” My room is in shambles. My totes and boxes are all out and half-packed. Yup. It’s time to go back. And the closer I get to going back, the more I begin to realize just how much I have missed Athens. You can probably guess what’s coming next, so I’ll just jump right in!

Top 5 Things I’m Looking Forward to in Athens

1.Red bricks. No, not the bar. But those streets. Those bouncy, slippery, trippy, pot-hole filled streets. For as much pain as they cause me (and my car’s suspension), I’ve missed them. There’s nothing like the red glow they get when the sunsets, or that satisfying sheen when they get wet at night.

2. Donkey coffee. I miss Donkey coffee so much you’d think I was dating it. Seriously, I have a terrible craving that only their Marakesh blend and a huge soy-milk vanilla chai can fill.

3. 35 Stimson Ave. Comfy red couch. Dirty porch. Street football. Sonic runs. After-180 hangouts. Yup. I miss it.

4.Front Room. I really miss froomin’ it, and not because they have such terrible coffee, but because I know if I need a friend, I can almost always find one there.

5. Friends. Cheesey. Cliche. But so true. I miss my friends terribly. I need to see them, hear them, and hug them. After all, what good is Athens without a good group of friends to share it with?

A Perfect World

When I’m dreaming (as I often do), my dreams often slip to the way I wish life could be. They way I would live, if I could. The way life could be, if Eve had never reached out and sinned that first time, and the world was perfect.

I would live in a small house set deep in a big forest with a large garden and a medium sized lake nearby. My garden would have flowers and trees, and enough veggies to satisfy both the bunnies and myself.

The house would always be lit with sunlight, and smell like fresh flowers and baking bread. It would never be quiet, filled with children and visiting friends and laughter.

I’d spend my days baking and gardening, visiting friends, wandering in the forest, swimming in the lake, sleeping in the garden and enjoying the sunshine (but never a sunburn). I’d never have to take a photograph, because everything would always stay perfect – and if I wanted to see it again, I could just come back later.  Every meal would taste the way food does after you’ve been very hungry, for a very long time, even though you’d never be hungry.

And best of all, if it were perfect, God would be there. And I’d spend all of the time sitting with my Father, talking to my Brother, and enjoying the warmth of the Spirit. And all of the gifts above would pale in comparison to this. Because this – this is what my soul was made to do.

These are the things I think about, when the days are long and my heart is heavy, and my body feels weary through my bones. I think, and I can smile, because I know I’m not just dreaming. I have the assurance of things hoped for, and though I know I’ll probably only see slivers of this now, but in a blink (for what is 60, even 70 years in comparison with eternity?) I’ll be in heaven, and I can rest until all of this is reality.

This what I dream about. What do you dream about?

5ish Reasons Why Skirts > Pants

I love skirts. As soon as it hits above freezing I will wear them with just about anything. I will only wear pants when forced. I knew that I loved skirts, but I didn’t realize the love affair that I had going with them until one chilly day fall quarter I emerged from my room in jeans, and a hall mate exclaimed “You’re wearing pants! So you DO have jeans!”

And for all you haters that contend that you can't be active in skirts, take this as proof that you're wrong. I once played an entire game of "World Cup Soccer" in a skirt. And nearly won. True story.

Yes, I do have jeans, but they’re like the tech support. Necessary, but extremely annoying, and only to used when absolutely needed.

Yes. Skirts are better than pants. And here’s why:

1.Breeze. ’nuff said.
2.Cute, quick, & lazy: jeans and a t-shirt? Average, somewhat sloppy, definitely lazy. Skirt and t-shirt? Cute, feminine, funky, and fashionable. And still lazy.
3. Diversity: Have you ever seen someone wearing floral patterned pants, or lacy shorts? They’re either Lady Gaga, an HBO star, or very brave. I can’t pull that off. Floral and lacy skirts, however, I can wear with ease. Ta. Da.
4. Stretchiness:  Pants without buttons/zippers = sweats and pajamas. Skirts without buttons/zippers = Normal fashion staples. Are you following me here? Skirts are like sweatpants in that they allow room for my food-baby with ease, but I can wear them in someplace other than my room. (I am a vehemently opposed to ever wearing pajama pants or sweats as an everyday outfit. Only in the house.)
5. The “Sound of Music” effect: Yes, I am running out of reasons. But yes, this is a real phenomena. By this I mean the feeling that one gets when slipping into the perfect skirt that fills the wearer with the urge to run out to the nearest field of flowers and dance around with abundant joy.

Do your pants bring you that much joy? I think not.

Penguin Being Tickled

So the title pretty much sums this all up. Yup. It’s a post. About a penguin being tickled. I bet you think this post is rather girly and a little inane? Fine. Judge away, because I don’t care. This is the cutest thing I think I’ve ever seen, and that includes babies. And I’ve seen some pretty cute babies. Watch it. And be in awe.

Don’t you want a penguin now?

Simple Thoughts

There are a thousand reasons to call God a good God, and praise Him forever, but this is the one that my mind keeps coming to rest on, for whatever reason.

Jesus is good not because he gives me so many good things, but because he could take every single one of those good things away from me in an instant, and simply knowing him would be sufficiently sweet to lighten my heart, strengthen my spirit, content my mind, and satisfy my soul.

Just knowing Jesus is the sweetest thing I have ever experienced.

“And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” (John 1:16 ESV)

Coming Back to Athens Feels Like…

Right now, I’m sitting in 32 N. College Street (the B side, of course), in my pjs, drinking a cup of coffee, staring out at the street.  And I could just burst with happiness.  Because I’m back in Athens.

I can’t believe how much I’ve missed it.  And I want to describe what coming back to Athens has felt like to me. So. Here goes -

Coming back to Athens Feels Like:

• That first big bite of a really, really good bowl of ice cream.
• Stepping into a warm shower after a really long day.
• A hug from a friend you really love.
• Sunshine on your back as you’re napping in a warm bed.
• A big mug of delicious coffee and a good book.
• That giggly weak feeling you get after you’ve laughed really hard for a long time.
• The way your cheeks hurt when you can’t stop smiling.
• Being able to breathe again.
• Finding your family.
• Coming home.

The difference between men and women

Me: Those are two things I’ve never wanted to do. Raise support and plan my wedding.
Sarah, Abbie & Casey: You’d never want to plan your wedding?!?!
Jeremy: You’d never want to raise support?!

I’m a Bible Geek

I have officially reached a new level of Bible-geekdom.

Yesterday, my parents came home from a two week trip to Hawaii.  Among the several presents they brought back for my sisters and me were hand-carved wooden necklaces.

We all got different necklaces.  Sarah got turtles.  Kate got a shoe. I got a Cross.

They both exclaimed normal sentiments – “Oh, pretty!!” “I love turtles, cool!”

The first thing out of my mouth? – “Oooh, it’s made out of acacia wood! That’s the same thing the Israelites made the Ark of the Covenant out of!”

Bible. Geek. FTW.

Are we morally responsible for our actions within our dreams?

Are you morally responsible for what you dream about?

My knee-jerk reaction is “No.”  But I know enough about my knee-jerk reactions to not rely on them as a source of truth.

This question came in mind after reading the passage in Matthew 5 in which Jesus explains that even our sinful thoughts are considered sin.  “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28 ESV)

It would follow then, that having a dream in which you reacted in any sinful way that you would be held responsible for that dream and would need to repent.

You could, of course, argue that one has no control over dreams, and therefore that would put a person off the hook.  I’m willing to accept that answer, although I would like some sort of Scripture to back that up.

However, the question remains, what if you’re a lucid dreamer?  In that case, you can control your dreams.  Are you responsible for what you do then?

If yes, then, as a friend of mine pointed out, that opens a whole new can of worms.  If you are morally responsible for committing an act of violence against a fictional man in a dream inside your head, then are you in the same way morally responsible for committing an act of violence against a fictional man in a video game?

Thoughts?  Obviously the answer to this has some far-reaching moral implications, and I’m no Bible scholar or theologian, so I would appreciate whatever help I could get.

Death

“From the moment we are born, we begin to die.”

This quote used to be one of my favorites.  It both terrified and intrigued me.  Only recently did I realize something new when I heard this quote.

I march, not toward death, as the quote implies, but life.  Oh yes, I will die.  But for me, death is only the vehicle to which I take to my new life.

Death (and the long, slow, often agonizing march toward it that we call “life”) is but a momentary pause, a blink, the final definitive step through the doorway that leads to my true life.

How much I look forward to that day!!! For, when I die, I will have entered into the final, glorious phase.

Like a bride slipping into her gown in the dressing room, such is death to me.

After that, it won’t be long til those door fling open wide, and my Groom will come to meet and lead me out to our eternal home – the renewed and reunited Heaven and Earth.  He will take me by the arm, and in the moment that I have dreamed about for so long, we will walk out into eternity, in all His glory and all my joy.

No, death is not bitter to me. I am bitter only that I must probably wait so long for it to come.

“For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” – Phil 1:21