She Sparkles Like a Foreign Princess.

Who is this? Who jets around to and fro wearing nothing but a cool blue smile.

Who claims this pretty little Jasmine of a gem?

She is hot and new and on the spot.

She handles great said the doc.

“I like her a lot,” claimed Dori in the lot.

That’s good news as these two are destined to be friends.

With personal interests as similar and stunned that IHOP was gone,

who can argue they’re two in one.

ODE TO THE OLD GREY MARE & Welcome The Green Flash

Alas, a time of parting has arrived among us. One of our very own,

one made with metals and held together with bolts, one who used to sparkle in the eye of the beholder has revved her last.

It pains me to say this, but she has passed.

Now she sits among the rust and parts;

her companion is another’s heart.

But we shall not dwell on things so grey.

No, we will save that for another day.

Instead of saying fare well old mare, I shall welcome a new addition to the matrix. This one color blind no doubt has been dubbed with love The Green Flash. Gender, I am not sure at this point; though, for sake of less confusion I will lean toward the male persuasion. Either way, that’s a story for another day.

Book Stores

Picture it: She stands, hands in the pockets of her slightly worn jeans, shoulders drawn up toward her ears not because it's cold, but because she is deep in thought. Her brow crinkles unconsciously (made possible by the corrugator muscle) as she stands facing the vastness of it all and considers just where to begin. Yes, she is planted in the entryway to fantasy, reality, heartache, love, relationship, joy, scholarship, leadership (it's starting to sound like an almamader's mission statement), and coffee; she is standing in a book store.
What is this young gal processing beneath the mop of curly locks? Let me tell you. She is first of all overwhelmed by the sheer volume of what is presented to her. She is debating in her head that it really can't be as hard as the writers complain it is to get your scribbles published in book form, just one look tells her millions have done it. A second closer look tells her, many shouldn't have made it to these shelves...seems like they'll let anyone write these days. Now, a layer deeper and we see the wheels turning; which shall she choose to read. With all the choices, this is no small matter. A glance at the new releases...too new and popular she thinks. She considers now the classics, paperback, buy 2 get the third free...not enough time to truly enjoy them, but some day she promises herself...they have made it this long, they'll still be there in two to three years. Next, she strolls to the poetry section, one she has not ventured into before...Shakespeare huh...sonnets, rhythms, allegories, symbolism...not a literature major she decides. She is drawn as always to the all familiar religion section. Christian living follows the myriad of Bibles, who needs all these Bibles on a shelf she wonders and thinks of all the little hearts that need them instead. Fiction, she finds the book recommended to her and holds on for fear that if she sets it down it might get lost among the masses of books all with catchy covers and colors to attract the eye and mind. How long has it been? How many ticks of the clock have passed since she entered this world of imagination? No matter, she now understands how there are so many tales of creatures that live in old libraries and people that are lost for days on end in these "novelty stores that are overstocked and full of ignorant sales people" - You've Got Mail. Ahh...at last, her eye catches the section that puts an instant smile on her face and causes the creased brow to melt into those now wide eyes full of innocence and light. She has entered the enchanted forest, the place where little humans come to learn and discover and create; she is in the children's section. Her eyes bounce around to absorb this little oasis full of color and life. It is bright and cheerful, unlike the rest of the store; it has potential. The little legs and lost shoes that clutter the aisles here are welcome, no one is looked down upon for picking out a book and sitting as is on the carpet, actually she believes it should be encouraged. This newfound little girl finds the classics and reminisces on the night time readings when it was her and mom and they took turns who got to read the next one. She picks up a new one that looks promising and turns the pages full of anticipation to find where they were going and who was leaving the tracks in the snow. She admits to no one that she figured out the end before it got there; she doesn't want to ruin the story for others. (not like it was 3 year old level anyway) As she places this back on the shelf she feels satisfied, her inner child is quenched for yet another day. One more 360 glance around the tiers of books before heading to the checkout line to be scanned and bought like any other good citizen. She heads out the door more quickly than she arrived, not in relief so much as in anticipation of cracking the binding on this man's life and joining him along his journey.

Epilogue: This story, though not fully true, is not fully false...what would you call that...a story:)
But in all seriousness the book, The Shack by William Young is a must read. You will smile, you will cry, you will sit in silence after reading the final words and contemplate in wonder of God.

Looking ahead

A New Year always brings things into perspective...why? Because one always reviews the past year and pulls out old photos which spark memories. Good memories are a blessing to revisit at times. There were many high points...

• spring break adventures to Destination Deserted Island
• graduating college/winning conference all in one day
• making new lifelong friends one week in Oklahoma
• playing sports with brothers and sisters in Brasil, leaving with until we meet again.
• traversing the countryside with Velma to visit our dear friend Flash in true Texas fashion
• starting the next three years of my life...not sure if that's a true high point, but a big point
• celebrating the completion of finals with my forty new family members, now that is a high point!
• finding out your R4L is engaged and sharing in her exciting accomplishments and future plans
• spending time rejuvenating and dancing with friends at home and in foreign places
• a friend's dad in an orange jump suit...and a blue one, with a gun...and warm apple crisp:)
  

I'd venture to say there were even a few low points...

• most of which revolve around having to say "so long" to living in close proximity to the majority of the people that I gave part of myself to...that I had the privilege of allowing God to let our paths to cross and learn continually from
  
• the rest would be times I was wrestling at God's feet with those very emotions, feelings, questions that arise when this body is tired and longing for...home...a home that is found with believers, a home that exists only b/c of His spirit alive in others...a home that ultimately we will share and that is being prepared for us.

But enough of that...on to the next. The exciting future awaits! The year 2008 is upon us...the new year's resolutions are, or should be, in action right now; there is no time like the present. I am excited...I am excited b/c when we can give it all to God, let Him lead us instead of trying to plan the next step and the next thing...well, pretty much its always an adventure. He has so many little blessings awaiting and people and places and situations that will occur that if we are seeking Him, we will be a part of His grand design, we will get to help out Papa out...b/c after all as I read in a good book recently...
"We are the body of Christ, not in some figurative sense, but we are the flesh and blood of Jesus alive in the world through the Holy Spirit-God's hands, feet, ears." -Shane Clairborne, Irresistible Revolution.

Even better than that we are called, commanded by the Greatest Commandment of All...
"The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy." -Jesus, The Message (Mark 14)

Wow! That's makes me excited, passion, prayer, intelligence, energy
so this year as I expand my body of knowledge, increase my intellectual capacities, exercise my heart and body, play intramural basketball with all my energy, pray for others, pray before meals, tests, in the morning, at night, while on the pot (hey, not gonna say it's not happened before), when I am jumping around crazy, teaching friends a new dance move, high fivin, low fivin, poundin the fist, visiting friends, coaching kids, sharing resources, discovering new things...as I do all these things and more, oh yes, there is more...I will be loving God, the Lord God! Woohooo! It can't get much better than that! A relationship based on love...He loves me, I love Him, He sacrificed it all (and I mean all) I sacrifice so little in comparison, actually, I get to do what I enjoy and am gifted at and be stretched a bit on the way and we call it good??....hhmmm...okay.

Sweet, so I'm looking ahead, I'm excited, even ready to get back to school b/c so many great things happen there, God is so alive and working and needed and that's where He's put me for the time being...

I'm looking forward to...

• the day I find out what spanish speaking country he has us going to for one of our clinical sites b/c it's possible, hey, with him all things are possible (philippians I think)
• I'm equally excited to find out what state I'll be living in for the end of Oct, Nov, and beginning of Dec.
• Then there's always spring break...who knows
• Coaches training in Colorado
• You know I gotta get to Texas sometime soon
• a certain wedding
• a new place to lay my head
• two solid weeks of UW life
• neuro I - hey, gotta start with the positive self talk
• weekend gettaways to A-town or the Fort
• meeting more random country boys while boarding...b/c I am an avid snowboarder in case you didn't know
• getting involved at church, more like outside the church, but through their leading
• more endless possibilities that I'll let you know as they happen:)