"It changed my life."

From time to time, I say this phrase. But you should know, there are certain criteria for something to truly merit this statment:

1. Can't be obvious like moving into a new apartment, getting a smart phone, or believing in Jesus.
   
2. Must be either uncommon OR not revered by the common. Sex would never apply. Neither would homemade chocolate chip cookies, because who doesn't like homemade chocolate chip cookies? Only aliens and crazy people.
   
3. Must change the way you think, live, eat, breathe, move, feel, or do. Not necessarily all of the above, at least one of them.
   
4. Every time someone mentions it you think, "Oh ya, that totally changed my life."

Now, the top 10 things that have changed my life (so far):

1. Gourmet mac & cheese -- I have always loved mac & cheese. I'd rather never eat any dessert ever again than give up mac & cheese. I was, and still am, a big fan of Kraft, both the stove-top box and microwave packet varieties. But having "grown-up" mac & cheese makes me fall onto the floor. We're talking smoked gouda and bacon, buffalo chicken mac & cheese, 4-cheese (goat, colby, cheddar, and parmesan) with herbed bread crumbs...
2. How I Met Your Mother -- one of the few shows that makes me laugh so out loud I need to clap my hand over my mouth because otherwise I sound like a crazy person because I'm by myself.
   
3. Skinny belt around the waist over a long cardigan -- ~2x per week
   
4. Expensive haircuts -- Nothing crazy, like $50-70. I used to loathe my hair, but now realize that it was just because I refused to spend more than $10 on a haircut. I'm not a boy.
5. Inductive Bible study -- I've been reading the Bible my entire life, but it wasn't until I did this form of intensive, scholarly, be-confused-then-figure-it-out type of study that I finally understood the wisdom behind the words. Mark Study made me understand why we use words like "glory" and "lamb" when looking the life of Jesus.
   
6. Eyebrow pencils -- If you look at pictures from college and before, I have no eyebrows.
   
7. Wicked the musical -- Changed my life because I still break out in song or listen to the entire soundtrack at least once per month.
8. Business as Missions track at Urbana '06 -- Set my foundation and belief that the the purpose of business and the economy is for social change, not profit.
9. Not looking at the clock before I go to bed -- Finally stopped calculating how many hours of sleep I would get and then having trouble falling asleep because I would be thinking, "I'm only gonna get X hours of sleep." I got this trick from Dani. I've been waking up more well-rested ever since.
10. Interval training on a treadmill -- I hate running. Hate it. It's uncomfortable and boring and tiring. But interval training gives it some pizazz. I can now run 3-4 times a week without wanting to hurl my body off the treadmill.

Mondays

Oh my goodness, what a long day! But no, not because of work.

After work, hit the gym and stayed on the treadmill an extra 7 minutes (yes it makes a difference!). Then instead of running to catch the shuttle, I stayed a little longer and sat to eat dinner. One hour commute, got home, showered, cleaned up a bit, then finally settled down with my computer to watch some useless TV and see the latest in my inbox. But oh no, not such a calm night. You know what happens when the entire bottom part of my Gmail screen fills with chat windows and I can't read the bottom of the email threads? I actually turn off my TV because I need to concentrate (and if you know me, you know my TV is always on).

VIDEOCHAT SEATTLE BABIES TAHOE SWINGDANCING APRIL MAY JUNE JULY VEGAS PISMO SAN DIEGO CALENDAR BIRTHDAYS CALENDAR FINDMEABOYFRIEND MINNACOMEHERE CALENDAR LUNCH CALENDAR TAHOE WOOT!

No wonder I don't have a hobby. But if the rest of my days and nights are filled corralling friends and debating trip options while making lunch plans, chatting with friends, and typing "lol" a lot more than I have recently*...well then, my life is full and I'm a lucky gal :)

*To be explained another, non-Monday day

How much would you pay for this meal?

Giant steak, glazed baby bok choy, and a healthy portion of mac and cheese. How much would you pay for this meal? Cuz I paid less than $5, and it took less than 30 minutes to make. From Whole Foods no less.

Take that Rachael Ray!

Girl Advice

Ladies, take notes. A hilarious and wise post from Taylor E.

Excerpts from an article by Tim Keller

Up until now, my faith has been driven by "what makes sense and is right for me". I've often encouraged others to figure out "what God means and how He speaks to you". While I still believe God is immensely personal and does speak to each person in their own way, this article exposes the fine line between that, and convincing ourselves of what we want to be true. Individuality is subject to, well, selfishness and naivety. Why do we trust ourselves so much more than God? That's so silly. Read on...

(edited down with bold highlights by me)
AUTHORITY
BY TIM KELLER

... We are our own moral authority... [People] are always ready to change direction and abandon commitments and loyalties without qualms and to pursue, on a personal cost-benefit basis, the best opportunity available to them...

Sociologist Christian Smith has written a book called Souls in Transition which profiles the beliefs of young adults under the age of 25. He finds that most of them believe it is the choice of their beliefs that make them true, not their truth that leads to our choice of them. He notes how even young adults who go to conservative churches and identify as Christians often refuse to believe Christian prohibitions against premarital sex and other Biblical norms that conflict with their feelings and intuitions.

Smith relates how he often interviewed people and asked them if their moral convictions (some of which were very strong) were mainly subjective feelings or really true to reality. He found that most had difficulty even understanding what he was asking...

Many years ago as a young Christian my attention was arrested by an article on ‘Authority’ by John Stott. Stott asked, “Why should people believe that the Bible is God’s Word written, inspired by his Spirit and authoritative over their lives?” (The Authority of the Bible, IVP, 1974,p.6) This was a big question for me. I had decided that I believed in Jesus Christ, but I struggled with the idea that I had to believe everything in the Bible. Stott answered that we do not believe it simply because we want to be dogmatic and certain about our own beliefs, nor because the church has consistently taught this (though it has), nor because we just ‘feel’ the Bible is true as we read it. “No. The overriding reason for accepting the divine inspiration and authority of Scripture is plain loyalty to Jesus…Our understanding of everything is conditioned by what Jesus taught. And that includes his teaching about the Bible. We have no liberty to exclude anything from Jesus’ teaching and say, ‘I believe what he taught about this but not what he taught about that.’ What possible right do we have to be selective?” (p.7)

What did Jesus believe about the Bible? He said that not a ‘jot or tittle’ (i.e. not the smallest letter or even a part of a letter) would pass away from God’s Word until all was fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-18 cf.John 10:35.) ... So, to Jesus, what Scripture says, God says. And Jesus did not simply believe the Bible, but he guided and regulated every step and detail of his life by it (cf. John 19:28.)

Stott’s question—‘what possible right do we have to be selective?’—is like a hammer blow to our contemporary way of life. We feel strongly that we have the right, even the obligation to select what parts of Jesus teaching we can accept and what parts we cannot. But that makes no sense. Why should you trust in him as Savior if you are wiser and smarter then he is? Either he is who he said he is, and his views judge our views, or he was lying or deluded about being the Son of God. So Jesus’ authority and the absolute authority of the Bible stand or fall together. If we believe he was who he said he was, then we must accept the entire Bible as God’s word.

New Song-of-the-Month

"Just Say Yes" by Snow Patrol. Click image to right to listen.

HIMYM

If you don't know what HIMYM stands for, this chat with Sharon won't make sense to you. Also, I feel sorry for you.

11:04 PM Sharon: im growing wiser each year u know?

11:05 PM me: each day

Sharon: hollerrrrr

me: in 55 more minutes...wait for it...

Sharon: lol

11:06 PM omg what do they say??

i forgot!

me: OMG

Sharon: in how i met ur mother!

me: you forgot THAT??

SHARONNN

Sharon: omg!!

i forgot itttt

me: that is crucial

Sharon: OMG

hint!

me: that's like not knowing "that's whay she said"

don't look it up

don't cheat

Sharon: im not

im thinkin

omg

omg

u are making me nervous

me: ok lactose intolerant

that is your hint

11:07 PM Sharon: huh

me: think it out

lactose intolerant

Sharon: something ...ary

me: what does lactose intolerant mean?

Sharon: u cant drink milk

11:08 PM u dont digest cuz u lack the enzymes lactate

me: ok smarty pants. milk is what kind of product?

Sharon: LEGENDARY!!!!!!!