A Christmas Gift for You

For all of you who read my blog, I wanted to show my appreciation. 

This is my Christmas gift to you, from one blogger to another. 

I hope you enjoy.

Go big or go home.

Sometimes you have to go big or go home.

Each department at work was given an ugly brown paper cutout of a christmas tree to decorate and post on the door. I don't get to use my creative side very much at worked, so I immediately started scheming big for the contest, and definitely encouraged some friendly competition amongst the other departments.

We decided to go with a music theme because so many people in my office have a musical background. For the tree, I decoupaged the background in sheetmusic and cutout little music notes for ornaments. I also strung ribbon across it, and made a big star out of pretty paper for the top. There are also christmas lights poking through. It's hanging from the door, which we wrapped in red wrapping paper. All of this is in addition to the Christmas decorations my office puts up every year: a tree, some garland, some lights, etc. If that wasn't enough, I brought in a red cozy chair, and next to it I strategically placed a bowl of candy. My laptop is also sitting next to the tree with a looping video of a crackling fire. And i'm of course listening to Christmas music.

So we unveiled our cozy winter wonderland this morning, and the judging is tomorrow. The best part is that I have a front row seat to see people's reactions as they walk by. Some of them are hilarious. I've had people say they're gonna come back with their laptop to sit down and study for finals. Some people laugh. Others just stand in awe. We're only supposed to be judged on the tree itself, but when you create an atmosphere like this, how can you lose?
I'll keep you updated tomorrow after they vote.

These are dark and difficult to see because they were taken with my phone, but this is the view from my desk. Plus, we have overhead lights off to help set the atmosphere. (We're pretty serious.)

From left to right: tree, crackling fireplace on my laptop, and decorated paper tree.

a sideways pic of the tree.

The sitting corner with chair and candy.

This past weekend was fun - busy, but fun. Narnia, lunch with Stella and the girls, Sturgeon's Christmas party, Prickett's college study break party, and worship worship worship and church. I'm excited for our Indian dinner with Navigate tomorrow night to get us pumped for our trip this summer. Also, I could eat Chicken Tikka Masala from Anmol all day every day - but I have a sneaky suspicion it will not taste the same, and definitely 100x more spicy when we're actually there.

musings on creation.

yesterday was pretty fabulous.

I came home from work, played a little guitar to plan for Sunday's worship set (I have too many songs, which is the best problem to have), then our first netflix movie had arrived (yayyyyy for netflix), so i had the joy of watching Yentl....after months of talking with Elisa about wanting to watch it. Why do we love the movie so much? I can't quite put my finger on it, but i'm sure it has something to do with Mandy Patinkin. And the best part was that the roommates got sucked in, too. Surprisingly, Sam couldn't get enough. And then we ordered Indian food for roommate Christmas/hangout/Sarah's birthday night. But we didn't do many Christmassy things because it was 24 stinkin degrees outside and no one wants to go get a tree or go to the basement to get decorations in the arctic. So we curled up with Yentl and Chicken Tikka Masala and my heart got really excited to be going to India this summer. And my intestines are praying for the strength to endure the spice. Then Sam and Sarah went off to study and Elisa and I watched White Christmas. I fell asleep, but the good chunk that I watched made my heart even warmer.

Especially this:


This weekend will be filled with Narnia (maybe), lunch with girlfriends and Elisa's grandma Stella (adorable), christmas party at the Sturgeon's (oh how i miss them) and church Sunday. It seems that warm, fuzzy feelings will continue. Which is wonderful, considering the 14 degree weather that greeted me this morning.

Musings on Creation:
I was sitting in bed this morning, reading Acts, and eating a clementine. I love Acts, but kept getting distracted by my clementine. Do you realize how perfect an orange is? It was ideally created for snacking. I was suddenly struck by the fact that there is no way that this orange just existed or evolved on its own.Someone constructed it perfectly - I mean, it has a protective covering, and then each slice is delicately wrapped so that you can peel apart and eat each piece. It leaves the option for sharing, or for saving some for later. AND it's delicious. I used to say that fruit is God's candy. It's beautiful and delicious and perfectly constructed. Look at an orange. How could that just "happen"? Someone designed it, and my tummy delights in His creation.

There is also a paper christmas tree decorating contest at work - each department gets a brown paper christmas tree cutout and you have to decorate it and post it on your door. i dont want to give too much away, but we are so totally gonna win. i'll post pictures next week when it's all ready to be judged. just you wait.

I don't claim to know a lot.
Ok, maybe that's false.
But I don't claim to know a lot about music videos.
At least not lately.
I'm totally open to hearing your input.

This day and age, in the year 2010, what, exactly, is the point of a music video?

I mean, really? Are there people who turn on VH1 and just sit and watch music videos? Are those people out there somewhere? MTV doesn't even really show music videos anymore, does it?

Anyhoo, the cause of this question was the flipping of channels while house-sitting this weekend (which, might I add, was fabulous). I stumbled upon the new Kid Rock music video.

This is what I was able to glean from the video:
Hi, I'm Kid Rock. I'm standing in a field with a fancy expensive guitar that is not plugged in.
I'm wearing sunglasses although it appears to be dusk.
Hold on a sec, now I'm on a beach and my hair is blowing in the wind.
For your visual enjoyment, let me show you a clip of the field and the beach at the same time.
Sometimes I like to ride a huge motorcycle down a long road.
I don't wear a helmet 'cause i'm Kid Rock, but don't worry - i'm still wearing the sunglasses.
I like to play my guitar on the beach. It's another guitar that better matches the color pallette of the sand and the sea. But there isn't a place to plug it in. Don't worry, though, because i'm just gonna fling my hands in the air anyway.
I got tired of the motorcycle, so now i'm gonna chill in my fancy old car. It has a set of big bull horns on the grill and shot guns for door handles because i'm Kid Rock and I do what I want.
When I lift my hand up in the air I look like a rockstar.

I just don't really understand the point. I don't get the message other than he was "Born Free" in America...I feel like a lot of money was spent for him to stand with a guitar in some of the prettiest places that God has created just to announce some kind of ownership of his freedom. Here's the video so you can decide for yourself:



On a much lovelier note, Thanksgiving was wonderful - I ate good food with good people and had good solitude time while housesitting, as well as got a little bit of Christmas shopping done. It was cozy. And for a much more cozy video, one that I saw for the first time last night that made me cry I was laughing so much about it.

RAE - you will LOVE this video.



You're welcome.

Bambi Goes To Seminary.

Why are you downcast, my soul? Put your hope in God.

Awake, my soul.
Yes, my soul, find rest in God.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.

I'm in a bit of a stalemate. A little bit of a slouch. A little bit of a valley. It's not dark, it's not scary, it's not super difficult. It's just kind of....bleh.
I don't wake up well in the morning, and when I do, I tend to fall back to sleep.
My room is a disaster and I avoid cleaning it.
I'm behind and I cannot focus for more than 5 minutes to get any of my Navigate reading done.
Things are messy and undone and my answer to productivity has been to sleep or turn on the tv.
This is not me.

David commanded his soul to hope. He commanded his soul to wake up, to rest, to praise. I want to command my soul, but I don't really feel like it. Could someone please command me to command my soul? Or command my soul for me?

On the way to work this morning, I turned on Bless the Lord - I often pick music in the car that I hope will 1) wake me up 2) put me in an attitude of praise for the day 3) get me focused on God.
My thoughts are often drifting and distracted, but I at least try to control the background music. And sometimes it works - even if just for the 15 minute car ride.

Today, as the song was building up to the glorious part where the music cuts out and the harmonies yell out, "BLESS THE LORD, OH MY SOUL!" and my soul was starting to listen and respond, I had to bring my car to an almost complete stop as I let 2 beautiful deer cross the road right in front of me onto the Seminary's campus.

Deer are my sign - some people have rainbows, red balloons, shooting stars, dolphins - things that they are especially sensitive to that, cheesy as it may seem, always seem to come at the perfect time and remind them of God's presence and love in a particular moment. When I go home, I beg for deer. There are a few places, on the back roads of South County, that I frequently seen them, or have had to stop for them in the past. For some reason, I remember those exact places and my heart kind of begs God to see them each time I drive by. I really don't see too many deer in Massachusetts - especially crossing the street in the daylight. I also don't often find myself in a place here where I feel like I need to beg for deer. But this morning, in a place where I was commanding my soul to praise the Lord and my soul was responding, rather than trying to command God to reveal Himself to me, He did just that.

I can't say that i've been good at commanding my soul all day today. It has been slow and I haven't had much work to do. I'm dreaming of Thanksgiving and my mini vacation and the moment when my room will be clean and my feet will be warm on someone else's heated bathroom floor. It's work. It's exercise to command my soul. Right now, it wants nothing more than to just be lazy and complacent and stay in this slump. Ice cream on the couch with 3 hours of tv sounds great to my soul right now. Snuggling up for a nice long nap sounds good right now. But I was encouraged this morning. When I command my soul to praise the Lord, my Lord responds and receives the praise. And my soul is lifted.
 

to the left of center.

1) I didn't realize that I had made 50 posts in my blog already. This is number fifty one. Really? What have I talked about for 50 posts? Maybe i'll celebrate when I get to 100. Strike that - that's pushing pathetic.
But....tempting.

2) I was driving to work today when I suddenly realized how poor the allignment of my car is. How is it that I didn't realize for however long that I need to hold my steering wheel a few degrees to the left in order to keep it driving straight? I've been so mentally consumed with the fact that it almost stalls out at every stoplight to notice that it doesn't even drive in a straight line when the wheel is unattended. I realize a little bit of a curve is probably natural. But this isn't exactly "slight." We're talking some serious "veering" to the right if I let go of the wheel. How is it possible that I did not notice this? Then my thoughts turn to the amount tension my left wrist has been withstanding for however long as I hold the steering wheel in place, to the left of center. (I also noticed that I tend to hold the steering wheel with my left hand - or at least hold it in place with my left while texting, curling my hair, applying lipgloss, and baking a cake with my right. JOKES.)
But then, naturally, on my way to work at 7:45 in the morning, I start thinking about the amount of tension in my life that I cause or that I don't even realize I put up with. This for example - I didn't even realize that I was exerting extra energy to hold my steering wheel in the place it needed to be even while driving straight. Or this morning, I spent way too much time trying to put curl into my hair, which does not naturally enjoy being curled or staying curled. The attitude of my hair as I try to do this is nothing short of tense. "Jenna, we've been through this a million times. I'm straight. And I'm thin. And I don't like curl. You won the war of the bangs, but i'm not letting you have this one."
And then I got to work and these thoughts stop. Anti-climactic, I know. Maybe i'll process these thoughts more someday. But today is Friday.

3) I went to the dentist this afternoon for the first time in about 5 years. College and moving to Mass and lack of good dental insurance have caused major procrastination in this area. It was a fairly good visit, but I always leave the dentist feeling a little confused about where I stand with them. It's kind of like we just had a DTR that really didn't clarify a single thing, and I know i'm going to have to go back to resolve some details, even though there were a few really great moments in the conversation. Congrats on only having one cavity, but we might see more with the x-ray. Stay tuned. You have beautiful teeth, but please come back next week for a big needle filled with novacane and a filling. You have a little gingivitis, but no plaque! You're great at brushing, but let's work on that flossing. You have a beautiful smile, but lets rip out your wisdom teeth. Really, it's not you, it's me....

4) Pumped to be going to the theater tonight (please re-read that sentence with a snobby British accent on the word "theater" - actually, so it's more like "theataah"). Meeting up with a group of friends to go see El Schwab rock it in 2 Gents of Verona in Rockport. Pumped.

the bathroom has heated floors.

Thanksgiving is next week?
Why didn't anyone tell me?
I've been daydreaming a little today - work is slow, and i'm a little ancy. So natually, my thoughts drift off to things like planting a church in Spain.

Or flying across the country to see the Pacific Ocean.

Or maybe i'll hop on a plane and go find a cafe in Europe to plop down in for a few weeks.

Or an orphanage in some country where there are babies that desperately need holding.

Or I'll just move somewhere and play music all day long.

I'm itching for an adventure. If you think about it, this really is the longest time i've been somewhere since leaving for college. I mean, I was at St. Mary's for 2.5 years, but always with a new adventure in the summer for a few months to shake things up a bit. But now i'm here. In Beverly. And I love it. But I also get a little ancy sometimes for a new adventure. I wanna just hop on plane, all by myself, and do something.

My solution?
Thanksgiving.
I'm housesitting next week from Wed night until Sun night and they need me to sleep in the house. The house is a mile and a half away from my own house, so it's not anything too terribly adventurous - but I am so looking forward to the change of scene. They have a big comfy couch and a lovely kitchen to cook in, a cute little cat and a quirky old bulldog. Best part: the bathroom has heated floors.
Just in case you missed that:
THE BATHROOM HAS HEATED FLOORS.
I can think of nothing better right now than someone else's big cozy couch, cooking up a storm in someone else's fancy kitchen, and warm toes in the bathroom. Oooh and candles. There should be candles.

Yes, please.

It will be my mini-vacation. And I will embrace it with all that I have.

On the subject of cooking - I made my first meatloaf last night, complete with asparagus and homemade rosemary foccacia bread. Meatloaf you say? What a strange choice.  As wonderful as my parents were at cooking and baking, I think my dad had been scarred enough by casseroles and ham loafs as a child for both of them to stear clear of any comfort food-type dishes that even slightly resemble anything like a meatloaf. So i've always wanted to experiment. I, afterall, don't have anything against meatloaf. In fact, I often enjoy it, I just have never tried making it myself. But I think I did a mighty fine job, if I do say so myself. and the asparagus and fresh bread were a lovely combination. I also bought the makings of my pumpkin crumble cake, but will be saving that for another time. New favorite blog to follow: giveagirlacookie.com - just don't read it when your hungry. I can't be held responsible for the late hours of the night you may stay up baking.

Next on my list of recipes to try: Homemade Chicked Pot Pie.

Dear Mr. Right -
Whoever you are, you will be well fed.

Please Enjoy This Public Way

There's a spot down at the water, one of the "Please Enjoy This Public Way" entrances, where the waves come in up against the sea wall, and as they roll back out, they pull the big, smoothed stones up against each other. The stones clack and rattle in the tide, and it is one of the most beautiful sounds I've heard in a while. I was hoping for a low tide when I went out to take some photos the other day, but the waves at high tide and this high pitched rattling pleasantly startled me. The photos were no good at the water, but I sat and listened for a while. I thought about writing a song before I realized that the stones had already written the song. Or was it the waves that did the writing?

Then I set off to take other Beverlean photos.
I call these Blue Sky Steeples.

 These are, "How to Walk in Beverly."

Ma'am I ammm tonight.

I feel like lots of things have happened and I’ve thought seriously several times about updating the blog, but I’ve never felt like I had anything amazing worthwhile to say. So…I’ll start with some pictures and then maybe move onto a few thoughts from the car ride home tonight.

Halloween Party Slash El Schwab's Bday 2010

The Winners

(The costumes were sooo impressive this year!)

The birthday boy.

The hostesses.

Then my brother came to visit and it was fantabulous. We ate froyo. He ate more frozen pizzas than I can count on one hand. We went into the city and were silly. We (FINALLY – after a year of trying) saw Needtobreathe in concert and it was stinkin amazing. He learned how to play Trains. He’s gonna move to Boston. I just know it.

Sweet smiley guy from Green River Ordinance

and sweet action shot of Bear

He's way too cute.

We're friends.

So for some actual thoughts, and not just picture updates – we were driving home Fri night from seeing Elisa’s mom’s band play at a place in Georgetown. The soundtrack for the car ride happened to be Sara Bareilles’ new album.

Now, I love Sara. I’ve seen her in concert. Girls got pipes. Even on tour, her voice was crystal clear. She’s adorable and hilarious and her music is, for the most part, pretty solid. Some cheese here and there, some elements added/adjusted to make things a little more playable for the radio - but often some pretty crucial, cut-to-the-core lyrics. However, after an abbreviated scan of the new album, we realized that about 8 or 9ish out of 12ish songs on the CD are about heartbreak, loneliness, emotions associated with breakups or being alone, etc. Not bad music – in fact, there are some beautifully written ballads and a few great toe-tappers.

Something, or multiple difficult things must have happened since her first album. I’m not knocking that – life throws all kinds of stuff at us – and if we’re lucky, we get to use both the good and the bad for art. We get to learn from it all and create from what it creates in us. I’m all for using crummy stuff in life to make good art. But I started to think of the impression I now have of Sara Bareilles after this album – what the album says about her, and what I would want an album of mine to say about me. I know there’s more to it, and I want to listen more closely to give her more of a chance, but on first and second listen, all I get from Sara this time is heartache. I hear “Hey, it’s me, Sara, again, but this time around my heart is super broken and I’m trying to get over it.”  Or with Derek Webb recently – I used to be crazy about his solo stuff. Now all I hear is, “Hey, I’m Derek and this CD will serve to express my political opinions and push people’s buttons.”

I’m all about evolving as an artist. It’s a little bit of a bummer to know that an artist you used to love has transitioned into a season of music or art that you don’t relate to as well – but that’s the nature of being human. And in good cases, it’s the nature of an artist and the nature of their art.

However, I think that I’ve been struck lately by a handful of musicians that seem to move into a narrower season. It might be a season of something new and different for them, personally – which can be exciting and birth wonderful music - but in the process of trying to recreate themselves within this new realm of thought or idea, they become stuck in nothing but that one thing.

Hypothetical, metaphorical example – My doctor tells me that I need to eat more vegetables, and while trying to discipline myself to do so, I am mystified by so many vegetables I never knew I loved. Suddenly I’m lost in a rainbow of bell peppers, a plateful of grilled asparagus and summer squash, and a 3-ring-circus of broccoli florets with mushrooms and onions. Vegetables begin to rock my socks so much that I practically leave fruit in the dust. I avoid eye contact with chicken and other proteins. I cross the road to walk as far from bread and whole grains as I can. Besides the fact that I am suddenly more flatulent than usual (not in real life, folks – this is what we like to call a metaphor), I have been so wooed by the world of Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato (or are they fruits?) that my balanced diet and therefore my own health and wellbeing is floundering because of my tunnel vision of the leafy greens.

I want to give Sara and Derek and the others that aren’t currently at the top of my favorites list the benefit of the doubt – but I can’t shake the feeling that they’re overdoing it a little. I never want someone to listen to an album of mine and be able to say or to feel like there was one topic that almost all of my songs were written about. There may be a time and season for that. But that’s what I use iTunes for. If I want to create a playlist of breakup songs, I can create my own with endless resources at my fingertips. But I find myself a little sad when I purchase an album that is mostly all on the same topic.

What kind of representation and expression of life is that? It breaks my heart that her album is all about heartbreak, but life is too complex and too complicated and too beautiful for me to write an entire CD’s worth of songs about sad things, even if they are toe-tappers. And I’m after much more than a CD that is so politically charged it’s hard to hear past that to anything else. I’m not convinced that an entire album entirely about falling in love will bring anyone a lot of connection, comfort, or growth for any extended amount of time. I don’t think I’m sold that creating a playlist for an album should represent a single slice of a season in your life. I don’t want to create something that will only relate to someone for a brief season. Call me selfish, but when I buy or create an album, I want a feast. I want vegetables piled high, but I also want a thick slab of meat, fresh baked rolls from the oven, heaps of mashed potatoes, and a deliciously fruity pie to round things out.

I’m still trying to formulate what I DO want an album of mine to say about me, and I may wrestle with that ‘til I die.  But for now, I’m pretty sure I’m not ok with such a heavy unbalance of topic/theme. I’m pretty sure I’d want a smorgasbord. A few toe-tappers to get you hooked, a love song or two to sweeten things up a bit, some struggles, some heartache, some lessons learned, and a little bit of sass. But I DO have to hand it to Sara for sticking to her guns about not writing us a love song. 

all this beauty.

I know, I know.
I'm sorry.
I went on a blogging hiatus. Not intentional. I meant no offense by it, truly.

Let me begin with this insanity:
I heard today that the state of Massachusetts is CHANGING the official night to trick-or-treat to Saturday, Oct 30th rather than on Halloween itself.
How can this be allowed?
Ridiculous.

Speaking of Halloween, we're having an awesome party. Halloween + Matt's birthday = awesome blossom time.

Our Halloween party last year is one of my favorite memories from my apartment. Costumes, friends, food, and tons of dancing. I'm expecting nothing less for this year, plus the added bonus of birthday celebrating as well.

I've been working on costumes for Elisa and myself. We're going as Betty Rubble and Wilma Flintstone. I bought sheets at Savers and cut them up and sewed us into them. Still trying to figure out what i'm gonna do about that bright orange hair for Wilma.

I also finally uploaded some photos that i've taken lately. Life has been a little crazy. I'm still loving my job and leading worship and Navigate. They are all very life-giving things right now, but i'm a little sad at my lack of time and ability to be writing music and doing some other more creative things. Maybe that's why I'm sewing these costumes by hand and staying up way too late doing it.

I'm getting way super pumped for my brother to come up the first weekend in November. Super duper pumped.

I was off coffee for a month, and am back on the train again - but trying my hardest (although not always successful) not to purchase it. I want it to be a treat because I like it, but not a "habit" or something I need and crave every morning. So far, so good. 

Now i'm drawing a blank, so i'll just share some photos.

This was apple picking in a nutshell.

Now onto gorgeous Lynch Park.

I love this beauty.

don't forget to clean up the popo.

I believe in the power of the Holy Spirit.
But I also believe that when the Holy Spirit leads you to give up coffee for an unspecified amount of time, it's ok to have a mini Reese's cup at your desk before 9am as a little pick-me-up.

Today, I woke up with 2 bug bites. One on each kneecap. How does this happen?

So much for a restful weekend. You know, getting over a cold, wanting to rest up some more just to be sure.
Fail.

Friday night, I went to Erica's Orphan for a Night event - it was beautiful. It was small and intimate, but still super powerful. Jim Trick is awesome. And I want to take voice lessons with his wife. (i just gotta find some time and money - i'll be checking the couch cushions tonight) And I love that the Holy Spirit shows up even when there's just a few of us. You don't need the multitudes for a power hour. We sat on cardboard boxes and were surrounded by candles. Humble, yet elegant.

Saturday, I slept in too late (because I had gone to be too late), but was pretty productive for the day. Got laundry done, took care of someone else's dogs (more specifically, 2 bulldogs who live in the same home but cannot be in the same room together - joy.), cleaned my room, and then messed it up again as I started but still have not completed the transition from summer to winter clothes. Then I babysat and afterwards caught the tail end of a clam bake with the Puz's. (shoutout to Nicole, who is undoubtedly reading this blog with bated breath - she lives for the updates on my life. but come on now, who doesn't?)

Sunday was our long-awaited apple picking day (pictures to come), which was lovely, but also turned into a rousing game of "How Many Loops Around the North Shore Can We Do?" Drove out in the morning to the farm in Ipswich - weather was great, apples were great, friends are great, taking photos is great. Cider donuts are fabulous. Then we drove way out to Guitar Center. Then we went to take care of the dogs - while my lovely friends waited in the car - and back out to Not Your Average Joe's for lunch.
I. Was. Pooped.
So Elisa and I passed out on the couch for a short while before rounding up the troops for church - where I wasn't leading for the 2nd weekend in a row because I had been sick.
But lookout, world. We are gonna melt some faces off next week. Get pumped.
Then some peeps came over after church to make apple sauce and crisp and do some "Navigate reading" - where I stayed up too late yet again. Now it's Monday morning and i'm dragginnnnnn...

Wait, what? How did that second piece of chocolate end up in my hands.....?

Davy Jones goes to seminary.

 

 

When a guy comes up to you on September 24th and starts a conversation with, "Valentine's Day is February 14th," how exactly do you respond to that?

Here is a list of possible responses that I have compiled, should this ever happen to you:

 

1) **blank stare**

2) Sure is....do you have any plans? **wink, wink**

3) So?

4) So THATS why I can't get a reservation anywhere.

5) Ugh, don't remind me.

6) Yes, but my love for you lasts all year long.

 

I went with a combination of 1) then 3) and then he proceded to tell me that I was wearing a red shirt.

Well, silly me. I should have known better than to wear a red shirt in September. I bet he gets real angry 'round Christmas time.

 

Tally of celebrity sitings at GCTS:

Mark Wahlberg works in the cafeteria.

Davy Jones (of the Monkees, not Pirates of the Caribbean) is a student.

 

mark wahlberg works in the cafeteria at the seminary

i'm sick.

i said to the doctor on Monday, "i think i'm getting sick"

and she said, "yep, you are. isn't much i can do about that"

so i've been pumping myself with water, zinc, vitamins, and lots of extra sleep.

 

In addition to the sickness, i'm still not drinking coffee. I've had several thoughts today about how my sinus headache would be slightly alleviated by some nice, dark caffeine. and i'm still not watching tv (ok ok, i snuck in a half a movie the other night when the sick started creeping in - but just half of one while i ate dinner then went to bed). And i'm still waking up at 6am every day. but this has been the week of 9:30 bedtime and i like that.

Boom Shock.

 

I'm strugglin to find interesting things to write about. Going apple picking this Sunday (if i'm not super sick) and can't wait to take pictures. I might be more excited about the photo-ops than the apple picking itself. Oh, and the hayride. And the cider. And the apple cider donuts. And making applesauce. Ok, i'm excited now.

 

Also, my brudder is turning 17 in November and has never been on an airplane. I think i'm gonna fly him up for the Needtobreathe concert and tour him around the city, then force him to play guitar at church on Sunday. Brilliant plan if I do say so myself. except for the fact that it means missing the weepies concert

 

i've got that ridiculously annoying itchy feeling in my nose. and the whole rest of my face.

 

we went on our navigate retreat this weekend, which was fabulous. who doesn't love being out in the woods all day with your best friends, throwing on a dress in 2 minutes, and being taken out to dinner at the yacht club? not this kid, that's for sure. it was lovely.

 

what is also lovely is the fall. i am in love with the in between seasons. I think its mostly the air. you can smell everything that nature is doing. and i don't like extremes, so its a nice blend of everything. so apple picking it is!

my bedroom is a vortex for smell. good and bad. when fletch is cooking in the kitchen and i can smell it stronger in my room than the kitchen, it's nice. but when neighbors are smoking various things on the porch, it's not so good.

 

mark wahlberg works in the cafeteria at gcts.

andrew ripp is the president of a new club i like to call,

"No Freakin' Way, Man. Ain't No Way We Lettin' the Devil Have All the Good Music"

 

This is a miracle.

I only hit the snooze button once today. I climbed back into my bed for 5 more minutes, then when it when off again, I turned off the alarm and went to the shower at 6:05am.


This is a miracle.

Now, I did it groaning and grumbling the whole time. But God, I just love my bed so much. Can't I just go climb back into my bed for a few more minutes? It's just so cozy there...

But I had resolved to wake up when my alarm when off. I've resolved to do that practically every day since high school, but always seem to forget that when the alarm starts buzzing. But I did it today (almost) and actually got going without wasting another half hour in bed. And you know the reward? I realized that when i'm done showering, making breakfast, and go back to my room, I get to climb BACK into bed to read. That, my friends, was the quite the enlightening discovery. So I climbed back into bed to read for Navigate, read a few other passages I felt led to, and then gotdressed and got going with my day.

AND i'm doing this all without coffee. I've had a dull headache since Saturday, my first day without it, but i'm getting through. I'm praying that this isn't a forever decision, but coffee was just starting to consume my thoughts in a way that was not healthy. Where can I get it? When can I get it? Should I leave early so I can stop to get some? Do I have time before work to make it?

Not. Healthy.

So I bought some delicious decaf Apple Cinnamon tea so that i'd have something yummy and warm and fall-like to drink in the mornings. I keep it in my desk at the office, and now that everyone can smell it, they know it's here. Let's just say i'll be making some friends real soon. Between the tea and the lemon-raspberry cookies I brought in today, i'm practically famous.
In other news, we officially have tickets to see Needtobreathe in Boston in November. This is the 4th time i've attempted to go see them. This is the 2nd time i've actually had tickets. Let us hope and pray that it actually happens this time. The Jesus-shaped hole in my heart has been filled, but the Needtobreathe-live-in-concert hole has been screaming at me for a year now. The time has come, Bear Rhinehart.

Also, I officially exist at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary because my nameplate was finished and has been added to the sign on the door outside of my office. Lovely.
So many good scriptures i'm clinging to today. Don't worry, i'll share one:

The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end. Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor. The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly. Isaiah 60:19-22
 
 
in honor of the tickets....

i wear a demeanor made of bright pretty things.

It's great working in an office where people want to know what you did over the weekend, but not when you're someone who consistently blanks on that question.

"Good Morning, Jenna! How was your weekend?"

"It was great, thanks!"
"What did you end up doing?"
"..........Great question. I don't remember. Let me get back to you."

 

It WAS a good weekend, though. I've been a bit disconnected because the hard drive on my Macbook died and i've been either using my work computer or Elisa's computer for email and such, so not really keeping up with my normal blog-o-rama. But that has been fixed, and I shall now share, in great detail that no one will actually be interested in, what exactly it is that I did this weekend.

 

Friday night was taco and hang out night at Becky's new place with lots of new Gordon Conwell friends...it was awesome to have good food and get to know some new people. Activities involved eating, talking, and walking to the beach. A brilliant evening.

 

Saturday I got b*fast with Sara, she helped me go get my Macbook fixed (wonderfully simple and free because I have AppleCare, but also a little sad because it means I lost everything on my old computer), we wandered the mall briefly, said hello to Miya and family, scoped out an old building that is for sale (always on the church hunt), and went back to her place to steal Josh's guitar. Sara time is always good time in my book.

Then I planned some more for worship before finding the deal of the century. I've been wanting a chair for my room for the longest time, and this weekend I finally found the perfect one. Leave it to Savers to SAVE the day. (I crack myself up) It was $25 and it's green and brown and perfect for my room. Then I got a $25 full sized bookshelf, something every grownup needs, and threw a party. Actually, I joined some others for a party of playing trains. We're addicted to Ticket to Ride.

Sunday I woke up and built my bookshelf, rearranged my room, prepared for worship, and went to church. It was my first Sunday as the new co-worship leader. This is a transition that has been brewing for a little bit of time, but is actually something i'm now able to share about clearly.

 

After lots of prayer and decision, we're making a shift at the harbor to a transitional period of myself and josh booth co-leading the worship ministry. josh will be handling mostly the sound aspect of things, training other sound people, leading occaisionally, etc. I will be seen more on the musical end of things, planning and leading worship this week. It has definitely been an interesting few weeks of processing and praying about what this time could look like after coming out of a time of such exceptional worship pastoring from sturg, but i'm excited that things are finally somewhat "set" and we can sit back and dream and scheme for a while. now that things are pretty more in place, i'm feeling  the freedom to get excited and really vision-cast for this season.

 

So that was church Sunday - I introduced a new song and met a new baby, and then we hung out at my house afterwards with Chinese to bid Sheralynn goodbye. The crazy fool moved to california yesterday. so pumped for her adventures.

Yesterday, i slept in nice and late before Elisa and I drove to Maine. We went up to the LLBean in Freeport, wandered the outlets a little bit, took some silly photos, wandered down to Portland to do the same thing, then stopped at her parent's house for beach pizza on the way back home. It was a gorgeous day and i'm hoping I got some ok photos.

i like this one.

We didn't even go inside. After the LL Bean outlet, we just wern't all that impressed. But we DID need a picture with the boot. 

Portland, ME.

Portland and LLBean.

 

Now back to work. Back to the daily grind. lol - students are all coming back, orientation is this week, and i'm excited to keep meeting new people. Dash's wedding this weekend, and Navigate starts up on Wednesday.

 

i love life.