Sunday, January 30, 2011

traveling pants

This past week, I wore my light wash, flare jeans from Delia’s, the ones with people’s names all over them and the number 7236 on my right thigh. The Sharpie is fading quite a bit now, but the memories still remain embedded in the denim.


A friend from my wing asked me, “Are those like the Traveling Pants?”
“Not exactly,” I answered. Those pants traveled with me to Lima, Peru and back to the United States. The pants had their tales to tell, but they are all mine.


These “Traveling Pants” have only been mine. They hold my joy, pain, excitement, and stains. They remember my past better than I do at times. My memories, unfortunately, tend to fade faster than the Sharpie ink faded by wear and wash. It is always the memories I do not want to forget that fade first and fastest, and there is not much I can do to combat it.
When people ask me about my jeans, I think about the memories. I think about what I still remember. The Peruvian children who just wanted to be shown love. The ones who wanted a friend, a hand to hold.
I think about my friends from that trip. I think about the painful goodbyes in the Miami Airport. I remember the last hugs, the encouragement and contact I still have with many.
I think about my best friends. The four girls I know would do anything for me and will always love me. I think about the struggles we have endured. The cancer. The physical pain. The rejection. Whatever one of us suffered, the rest of us did as well.
The pants. For me, they hold memories. To others, they are just another pair of pants with writing on them.
I remember growing up reading The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, then watching the movies. I cried and laughed. The girls reminded me of my best friends and I. I used to wish we had “magical pants” which would keep our friendship strong and alive. All along I forgot to realize that the friendship I had with my best friends had something better than special pants. We had God.
Today as we have gone our separate ways for college, we still have the most important thing which holds us together. Time and time again, God pulls us together only to strengthen our bond. Whenever something happens to one of us, we all end up saying how much of a God thing it is that we are still friends. Many of the obstacles we have endured could easily kill a friendship, especially one holding five people to each other. We are blessed.
I am blessed to have more than a pair of pants holding a friendship together.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

pocketful of sunshine.

Do you ever find yourself singing the same song for days? Or listening to the same CD for hours upon hours? Well, I do. And quite often.

If you have ever heard of either Guest. or He Is We, I will love you forever. Anyways, I always seem to get their songs stuck in my head for hours or days at a time. That is most likely a result of me listening to their work nonstop some days though. Some days I find myself listening to "the worst song EVER!" and then 20 minutes down the road, I am listening to the song on repeat for hours, humming and singing it everywhere I go. Some days I feel like this...


Does anyone relate to this? Maybe not with this song, as I have always loved Natasha Bedingfield's "Pocketful of Sunshine." But maybe with a song like this one?

Or this one?

Confession #1: I love Jump 5. I have loved them since "Spinnin' Around" came out.

I am always singing or humming some new song or an oldie but goodie, everywhere I go. But rarely am I found thinking about scripture all day, every day. Songs fill my head 24/7, when God's word should be to sustain me.

Psalm 119:41-48
41 May your unfailing love come to me, LORD,
   your salvation, according to your promise;
42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me,
   for I trust in your word.
43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth,
   for I have put my hope in your laws.
44 I will always obey your law,
   for ever and ever.
45 I will walk about in freedom,
   for I have sought out your precepts.
46 I will speak of your statutes before kings
   and will not be put to shame,
47 for I delight in your commands
   because I love them.
48 I reach out for your commands, which I love,
   that I may meditate on your decrees.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Bloomington, foggy nights, and photographs.

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." -Psalm 37:4 (NIV)


I am blessed. I have an amazing family (who I miss very much at this moment), amazing friends (who I also miss), an amazing wing, and amazing roomie, and amazing neighbors. I could go on and on about how amazing everyone in my life is. This past weekend I was blessed to be able to go home with my neighbor, Laura, to spend the weekend at her house with her family.


I love relaxing, and this weekend was definitely one of relaxation, reading, and quality time. Laura and I are alike in many ways, so it was great to be able to talk to her on the two hour ride from Taylor to B-town. Quality time is one of my top love languages and I love listening to others. I could sit for hours, soaking in what people around me are saying. I feel as much a part of the conversation when I am listening as when I am talking.


Bloomington feels like home to me. It is a mix of Ann Arbor (because of U of M and the one way streets) and other cities near me. The atmosphere at Laura's house made me feel completely comfortable.





I love photography. I love cheesy sayings. I think I might actually be addicted to looking at typography and photography sites. So here are three for the week which I appreciate:


By Lindsay S Images
(Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindsayshoemakephotography/3750012924/in/set-72157605874669599/)



(Photo Credit: http://diandrasarno.tumblr.com/post/2763902281)


julie911:

 Be Yourself © jamieklimes
(Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamieklimes/5056777761/in/photostream/)


Complete change of topic...





I have a new book to review! So far, so good. I figured I wanted to read a good teen fiction book, and what better author to read than Jenny B. Jones? I hope the novel turns out to be a good one. So, save the date. Feb. 1, 2011. Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones.


"Tell God you are ready to be offered, and God will prove Himself to be all you ever dreamed He would be." -Oswald Chambers


God has been teaching me a lot since I have been back at school. I have been reading Save the Date and when God writes your love story by Eric and Leslie Ludy. Before I started reading this book, God had already been teaching me about relationships. I have thought I have been ready for a relationship for months now. I was waiting for God's perfect timing to place the perfect guy in my life. But, I never thought about why God would want me to have a relationship. God wants me to put Him first in my everyday life before He places someone else in it. I have spent too much time making every aspect of a future relationship about me. I now know my future relationship(s), especially with my future spouse, are supposed to be Christ-centered. My purpose for a relationship should be to glorify God, not for personal gain. Until recently, I did not realize how my brain was not focused on God as much as it should be. I thought I was maturing and soon enough God would allow me to fall in love with the perfect guy. I had no idea how wrong I was. I have to fall in love with God before I can fall in love with any guy, no matter how great he may be. I am very excited I have made this leap of faith and I am falling in love with my Creator more and more every day.
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