03.16.10

earthquake preparedness.

03.15.10

escape artist.

renewal

"For three days I have been meditating on the story of the prodigal son. It is a story about returning. I realize the importance of returning over and over again. My life drifts away form God. I have to return. My heart moves away from my first love. I have to return. My mind wanders to strange images. I have to return. Returning is a lifelong struggle.

It strikes me that the wayward son had rather selfish motivations. He said to himself, "How many of my father's paid servants have more food than they want, and here I am dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father." He didn't return because of a renewed love for his father. No, he returned simply to survive. He had discovered that the way he had chosen was leading him to death. Returning to his father was a necessity for staying alive. He realized that he had sinned, but this realization came about because sin had brought him close to death.

I am moved by the fact that the father didn't require any higher motivation. His love was so total and unconditional that he simply welcomed his son home.

This is a very encouraging thought. God does not require a pure heart before embracing us. Even if we return only because following our desires has failed to bring happiness, God will take us back. Even if we return because being a Christian brings more peace than being a pagan, God will receive us. Even if we return because our sins did not offer as much satisfaction as we had hoped, God will take us back. Even if we return because we could not make it on our own, God will receive us. God's love does not require any explanations about why we are returning. God is glad to see us home and wants to give us all we desire, just for being home."
-Henri Nouwen

The beginning of this passage says everything I feel today. No, my life has not drifted from God, but my heart has moved away from my first love. I've become distracted with thoughts and dealings of school and social life, pushing God aside from His kingly place in my life. I remind myself daily not to do this but alas, my heart and thoughts wander. Oh Lord, take me back once again!

03.14.10
study... study... no seriously, STUDY.

03.13.10
red and gold stage tech.

03.12.10

martinis in honor of shelly's 25th.

03.11.10

If someone wrote a book about us legs (Dani, Laura, Katie and me), this would be the title.

03.10.10

exploring.

03.09.10

my love, deep sea diver.

Tonight Dani and I went to see one of my dearest friends perform. She is absolutely amazing. Her music has progressed over the years (15!?) but she's managed to keep that "jessica thing" that truly captivates me. Words cannot express how much I love this girl.

03.08.10

the sunset peeks out from under the storm.

03.07.10

just fillin' my sister's jeep with gasolina.

unanswered prayers...

anthropologie weddings.

thank God I'm not married yet.

03.05.10

baseball ivy at school.

Today was a beautiful day. It started with being late to school yet again, normally I wouldn't mind walking in awkwardly and taking my seat, but this professor starts lecturing at 7:30am on the dot and I miss 5-7 minutes of lecture (which is kind of a big deal in this class). Oh well, try again another day. During my break between lecture and lab I grabbed coffee from the cafeteria (no one is there on Fridays!), sat by the window and read. I began to cry because Dostoevsy captures humanity in a such a beautifully terrifying way. I can't get enough, but I can't write about such things, my words don't do my thoughts justice. On to dissection, well, really just skinning. I skinned my first cat today, a lot better than I anticipated and managed to keep most of the fur off my clothes. RIP little cat, and I mean that in the most sincere way. I then went to work, nothing to report there. The day ended quite nicely, sitting with 300 other people including Chandra, Sean-Michael, Lou and Dani to see the new Alice in Wonderland. The costuming was fantastic, I wish the story would have been split into two parts but it was good none the less. Oh, and Helena Bonham Carter rocked my world.

03.04.10

the countdown is on.

03.03.10

a rat in the attic.

03.02.10

spitting image.

03.01.10

katie's birthday bridesmaid's dress shopping.

After finally getting out of the house long after anticipated, we figured out all the bridal boutique's are closed Mondays. bust. So, what's left to do? Bridesmaid's dress shopping! We had success, but the actual dress will not be posted to preserve the surprise factor. This dress did not make the cut.

PS- Sometimes I do think Katie and I are twins, look at us in the mirror.

02.28.10

rock harbor fullerton

Tonight's launch of Rock Harbor Fullerton was just another reminder of how God moves in great ways. The FC theater, able to hold 450 people, filled up quickly and left many many people (including us) standing outside. How great is that?! In fact, the church was so packed inside and out, they had to do an impromptu 9pm service. We're continuing to pray that God moves here in Fullerton.

"For greater things have yet to come

Greater things are still to be done

In this city

When glory shines from hearts alive

With praise for You and love for You

In this city"

-chris tomlin

02.27.10

cravings.

We went into Marceline's Confectionery to satisfy our sweet teeth, unfortunately all the good candy apples were sold out. Ugh! Luckily, the churro cart was still open. Mmmmm... hot churros on a rainy night.

02.27.10.dos

sweet teeth, satisfied.

02.26.10

early birthday celebration.

A girl's night pre-birthday celebration. My mom bought this beautiful cake, Dani prepared a pasta dish with spinach noodles and red peppers, I provided the cheese (Manchego, smoked gouda, havarti, brie and fresh mozzarella), wine and sangria. After dinner we jumped into the hot tub and after that we headed down to the pub to have a beer. It was a good night to celebrate our dear friend, the only thing missing was Laura!

02.25.10

mmmm... throw on some agave sweetener.

02.24.10

fancy feet.

I bought these beauties about six years ago but sadly they have only been worn out twice: once on Melrose for a little over an hour (luckily, I had prepared for such unbearable pain and packed my trusty rainbows in the car) and today. I decided today's study session needed a little extra flavor, so I slipped these on with some jeans and a white T and headed out. This worked out perfectly because I really only had to walk to and from my car, otherwise I was sitting pretty, pain free. 'Twas the perfect solution to painful platforms.

02.23.10

i stand in awe.

It's absolutely amazing to me how the human body is put together so perfectly. Studying the differences in the female and male skeletons are mind blowing. I don't see how people deny the existence of something intelligent behind such a design. It's all so beautifully arranged. I really really want some framed illustrations by Gray to put on my wall. Or would that be too creepy?

02.22.10

it's nice to have a handyman.

I'm quite lucky, I know, to have a man in the house. On such occasions when drains don't drain it's nice to know there's a man who's going to be looking into it, literally! Steve has a camera that can look deep down into the pipes under the house. He's legit, but we still called the plumber... no one wants to do that dirty work.

02.12.10

flowers make the day seem a little more special.

After being enamored with the clouds this morning, I was inspired to purchase these stems in addition to much needed groceries: simply chicken, salsa verde, almond milk and yogurt (thanks Dani, for being my food life coach). Don't you just love the abundance of these glistening little petals? I've never really had a favorite flower, typically any white flower becomes my favorite but of recent I've been in love with these beauties. This week is sure to be glorious with these on the counter.

02.20.10

even washing dishes can be beautiful.

02.19.10

i'm obsessed with the way this web captures its surroundings. see morning rain.

02.18.10

morning fog.

02.17.10

ash wednesday.

02.17.10

felt like christmas today opening old boxes.

welcome back marc jacobs, hanae mori, narciso rodriguez and thierry mugler.

02.16.10

slumber party.

02.15.10

giant cat.

02.14.10

happy valentine's day.

i get by with a little help from my friends...

02.13.10

legit polish.

02.12.10

one year ago the Lord redirected my path; praise Him from whom all blessings flow!

2.11.10

oh how much better life can be with a little help.

02.10.10

twins in the park.

02.09.10

oh so artsy.

02.08.10

las palmas, literally.

02.07.10

a wonderful day in the park with my Lord and Savior.

02.06.10

...she'd be engaged!!! Congrats Katie and Sean!!!

02.05.10

little did she know that tomorrow...

02.04.10

moon in melancholy morning sky.

02.03.10

everyone at the clinic was incredibly friendly.

'twas a good visit.

02.02.10

bling: sometimes i take myself way too seriously.

02.01.10

hello february,

thank you for the (heart shaped?) pizza.