Talk Thursday // Love Languages

Unless you've spent the last 8 years living under a rock in the Mojave, you've likely heard of Gary Chapman's book The 5 Love Languages. I personally have never read it, but more times than I care to count, I have been asked to take quizzes, answer questionnaires, and engage in EXTRAORDINARILY long conversations to determine my love language and how those love languages interact with other peoples. It's like signs of the zodiac for Christian love.

And while, yes, I feel like it's a little cheesy, knowing other people's love languages has really helped.

When my BFF and I were living together in college, we struggled for a long time to understand each other because she didn't want to cuddle and I was never home. She was (and I'm fairly sure still is (you can clarify if I'm wrong, 'Dino)) quality time and acts of service. Once we finally vocalized those things, it enabled us to figure out a way to satisfy one another's "love tanks" as it were (hey, I didn't make it up, I just took it from Gary). We didn't always work towards loving one another in the way that we should have, but at least we couldn't say we were ignorant about them.

So anyway, this week's Talk Thursday is pretty simple:

What's your love language? Is how you receive love also the same way as you give love?

PS, the options are:
* Gifts
* Quality Time
* Physical Touch
* Acts of Service
* Words of Affirmation

Alrighty Sports Fans!

Well, I bought my first set of Discs yesterday. No no...not compact discs or clay discs...Disc Golfing Discs. I've officially joined the ranks of those who would rather spend their sunny afternoon tramping through a forest so laced with the scent of marijuana you get a contact high from a tree rather than those who would rather spend their sunny afternoons getting a tan in the backyard. I'm not sure yet how I feel about that...contact highs or melanoma....


Anyway, I bought 3 discs - a Fairway Driver (Leopard), a Mid-Range (Shark!!!), and a Putter. I'll be real with you fine folks: I'm not good, but I'm FAR from terrible. So there's hope yet.


Jon Acuff says that Disc Golf (or Frisbee Golf) is God's favorite sport. Which would make a lot of sense since it was played all over our small Southern Baptist college campus. Or not a lot of sense....? But everyone in our church plays. And we're only Southern Baptist by affiliation, not practice. Maybe Frisbee Golf isn't God's favorite sport, but rather it was Dwight L Moody's? (I know I get those two confused sometimes too.) =)





So let me ask: do ya'll play disc golf? Do you even care about disc golf? Are you going to slap me in the face for interchanging the words Frisbee and Disc?





Happy Spring, kids!

Talk Thursday // Summer Planning

Since Monday I've been contemplating what my summer will look like and how I will try and spend almost four months of not being in class (wooooohooooooo!)

Well, I've devised myself a little "to-do" list for the summer and I'm going to share it with you. =)

1. Ride bike to Flaming Geyser & back (this will require building up stamina)

2. Reorganize bookshelves (they are not in alpha order and it's driving me NUTS)

3. Finish The Coffeehouse Gospel & All-Star Missions Churches

4. Go on a road trip (or several)

5. Start Comprehensive Written Report for internship class

6. Write training materials for the Orchard

7. Pre-write one month's worth of lessons for Orchard

8. Go to the drive-in movie

9. Review Hebrew & Greek (likely closer to August)

10. Get a tan

(Bonus #11: Go on a date (but not like the two blind dates from last summer...those were BAD!))

I'm excited about this summer.

So I'm asking: what are your plans for the summer? What do you normally do? What do you want to do? And when are you going to come visit me? =)

Cinco de Mayo

¡Hola amigos! ¡Cinco feliz de Mayo! Espero que sea todo bien y disfrutar de este el miércoles encantador. Celebraré este Día mexicano de Independencia trabajando. Sin embargo, cuando el reloj golpea cinco, disfrutaré de pastillas, salsa y un chimichanga. Porque cocina mexicana es ya mi favorito, yo utilizaré simplemente este día como un día para comerlo y beber un Strongbow. Si tengo suerte, yo también miraré "El Tres Amigos".

¿Qué es sus planes para este Cinco de Mayo?

(If you can translate this, you get a Cinco de Mayo prize!)

School is out and there's kind of a buzz....

Oh Fresh Prince, truer words have never been spoken.

As of 12.05 pm today, I am officially on summer break. No classes, no homework, no weekly commute to Portland - I'm free!!

What will I do with all my free time?! And by free time, I mean those few hours in my day that will no longer be property of Multnomah professors, but are disconnected from GroupHealth and Veritas Church children's ministry.

For now, I'm going to stay up late, watch TV and not read anything that isn't strictly fiction or someone else's blog.

And can anyone tell me how to get the weather to cooperate with the current season? This is more than a little ridiculous up in WA.

Summa' summa' summa' time....time to sit back and unwind...

Today Is A Good Day For Bad Poetry // Friday edition

Miles and miles
Of files and files
Typing and griping -
It's the boredom I'm fighting
Rockin' country jams in my ears
Helps to chase away my working day tears
I'm double-fistin' the day with coffee & water
Haven't you heard? I'm Don & Juanita's daughter!
We're mid-way through the day -
"Dear Jesus, speed it up!", I pray
Once in a while I'll get up to walk
And mosey on over to where I can talk
People here think I'm a little weird
But it'd be worse if I was the lady with the beard
Soon enough I'll get to go home
"Can't I just rest?!", I'll inevitably moan
But my homework awaits
Thus this Friday night, I'll have no dates
Not really so shocking -
luckily my biological clock ain't tick-tocking
Wow, that got weird fast
I wonder how long I can make the awkward last....
This crappy poem took up some time
but I think I'm all out of rhyme(s)
I hope you all have a wonderful day
Go outside, get some sun & play!
TGIF!
Apparently that's all I got left.


(This poem brought to you in part by:
Insomniax Coffee Co. - Freshly Squeezed Juice is on 15th!
More Like Seuss - Read what the funny is!
Big R Radio - Country for everyday
&
The huge @$$ tower of files behind me)

Talk Thursday // Lessons Learned on a Thursday

I made two bad decisions before 8 am this morning:

1) I thought BigFoot Java would have decent coffee (they don't)

and

2) I thought taking the Valley freeway to work would be my best commuting option (it wasn't)

Because last week's "Humor Survey" was so much fun, let me conduct another survey - Weekday Morning Survey!

If you love Jesus, you'll answer these questions. If you want Tom Cruise to stop being crazy, you'll answer these questions. If you want to see that annoying co-worker leave, you'll answer these questions. If you want Brooks & Dunn to stay together, you'll answer these questions. And if you want an end to my ridiculous "If...Then" statements, you'll answer these questions.

1. What time do you have to be wherever it is you need to be (work, school, home) in the morning/afternoon/evening?

2. How do you get there?

3. What's your morning beverage of choice?

4. Are you a morning shower-er or an evening one? (Or are you like Matthew McCaugnehey and don't shower at all? (PS: ew))

And, PS, don't get BigFoot Java. They are now dead to me.

I have spoken (thanks Heather L-C). =)

Weekend Update

1 night of karaoke

+

1 day of moving

+

a night of dueling pianos

+

church stress

+

awesome Mexican birthday lunch

+

not doing any homework

+

spending time w/ my friends & family

_______________________________

GREAT TIMES!!!!

Thanks to everyone who made my Golden Birthday awesome! You guys are the best!

Talk Thursday // Getting to Know You

Apparently the things I find humorous in life do not match ya'll's sense of humor (according to recent reader comments). I can be ok with that.

But that makes me feel like I don't know you, the Hephzibah community, as well as I thought. (In my head I'm hearing Season 1 HIMYM: "I want to know your soul; what makes you cry?" HIMYM fans...you're welcome).

So today's Talk Thursday is less of a "discussion" and more of a reader survey. If you want to be awesome and famous, you will answer these questions. If you want an end to world hunger, you will answer these questions. If you want Lady Gaga to stop singing/being crazy, you will answer these questions. And if you want me to stop hounding you with promises I can't keep based off of your responses, you will answer these questions. =)

Let's talk. Thursday-style.

What is your favorite comedic movie?

Who is your favorite comedian?

What typically makes you laugh on a day-to-day basis?

Have you ever laughed so hard that you wet yourself? (And let's be honest...we've all done it, so there's no shame (ok, there's a little bit of shame, but no judgment (ok, there's a little bit of judgment, but there will be no mocking (that's not true....there will be mocking...))))

What would you say is the ratio of your laughter to your tears? And to clarify, this is tears of sadness, not tears of laughter.

How would you classify yourself as a laugher? The Silent Shaker, The Boisterous Boomer, The Snorter, The Tiny Tee-hee-hee-er?

7 Things That Make Me Laugh On A Regular Basis

and they're free for you!!!

7. When people fall down.

Don't you judge me! I will always ask if they are ok, but you better know that if you trip and fall in front of me, I will laugh heartily.

6. "Balls", "package", "sack", & "That's what she said!"

Every-freakin'-time... Apparently I'm a 13-yr-old boy trapped in a 25-yr-old girl's body (the psychologists would have a field day with that statement!).

5. Flight of the Conchords

Specifically these videos:

4. This guy's blog

3. Mel Brooks

His comedic timing is genius. I don't know how he does it, but I can't think of one Mel Brooks movie that isn't solid gold. Space Balls, Young Frankenstein, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Blazing Saddles...if you haven't seen these and/or don't think they are humorous, I don't know if we can be friends.

2. How I Met Your Mother

Granted, Seasons 1-3 are pure dynamite while 4 & 5 have been slacking a little but honestly...who doesn't want to see a grown up Doogie Howser whore it up all over NYC alongside my celebrity boyfriend and a grown up "One time, at band camp" Alyson Hannigan? It's LEGENDARY!

aaaaaaaaaaaand the number 1 thing that makes me laugh on a regular basis.....

1. Ol' Greg

I don't know why someone would make this video or why I think its so funny, but honestly....who DOESN'T laugh at a fish-man with a mangina?! Freaking hilarious.

Talk Thursday // Focus! Laser Beam!

I am an easily distractable person. I have what my pastor calls "AD...OLTACD" - Attention Deficit...oh look! There's a Chicken!" Disorder. Shiny things, conversations, music, shoelaces, Dr. Pepper, paper clips, folding napkins - anything can distract me from what whatever task is at hand.

So in order to help me once, my friend Tim demonstrated the noise of a laser beam to get me to focus...like a laser beam. "SHINGBANG!!" is the sound byte I hear every time I need to focus on something that I'm not currently focusing on.


As we approach the end of another school year (for some of us), the start of a highly distractable season (summer), and the impending glory of freedom (vacation), I want to ask how you, my loyal readers, focus. What methods/motivations do you utilize to help you push through on mundane tasks? Do you have a specific thing that helps settle your mind on work/school/tasks?


For me, NickelCreek, DeathCab for Cutie, Rascall Flatts, Billy Joel & Elton John are my "focus" music. In college, when I listened to these artists, I could bust out a paper in a matter of hours. And if they're in my head when I'm at work or doing school work now, I'm able to get through. As far as motivations, knowing that the end is nigh is always a brilliant motivator (probably because I know how far behind I am and in order to pass classes, I have to work hard to catch up!).


So what about you? Are you even in crunch time?



P.S. If there was a shark with a laser beam, I would TOTALLY focus!!!

iT Is wELl

You know when you're just driving along peacefully, you've just picked up the pace to be going with the flow of traffic well; the windows are down, the country music is blarin', and there's a reason to wear your sunglasses? Everything seems peaceful and calm and set?

Then all of a sudden you're hit broadside by 16-wheeler, spinning a 180 on the interstate.

Ok ok, don't worry....I wasn't literally tanked by a 16-wheeler recently. But figuratively I absolutely feel as though I've been run over out of nowhere.

And I'm sure you've had those days too.

Our current sermon series at church is the Fruits of the Spirit. Each week, we're learning about a specific fruit. We started with love, last week was joy and now we're approaching peace. I'm not sure if it's because I'm planning the lesson plans for the kids or because God thinks its funny, but for the last 3 weeks I've been dealing with that particular fruit a week before the sermon. Let me share:

The week of 3/29-4/4: Love - my heart was moved for our community, for my family, for my friends and I prayed that I would be able to show love to them in whatever way I could. This one was easier. Then...

4/5-4/10: Joy - my plate has been full to the brim and last week I was done. Done with school, done with work, done with people, and yet I felt God calling me not to give up hope, to trust Him to come through and I could rest in His joy & that the joy of the Lord would be my strength.

4/11-?: Peace - I am in an utter state of unrest. I can't concentrate on anything, I can't get my head out of this fog and I just want to escape. At this point, I freaking hate all 16-wheelers that want to broadside me without so much as a warning.

I do not want this pattern to continue - especially when it gets to self-control!

Does anyone else feel like this? Or am I just the broke-down car with her hazards on, waiting for the tow-truck?

Talk Thursday // Joy

Oh look....a Talk Thursday on a Thursday...how ideal. =)

So this Sunday in the Orchard (not a real orchard people - a figurative orchard), our little Veritas kiddos will be learning about the Fruit of the Spirit of Joy. It is elusive and abstract and tricky to wrap our minds around. My question was at first "How do I concretize joy for little people?" (not midgets, just young humans) But then, the more I considered it, the question became "What IS Joy?"

Is joy just being happy all the time? Is it not letting anything get you down? Is the joy joy joy joy down in your heart? (Where?!)

It seemed natural to equate joy with happiness to help the kids see the meaning. And the illustrations were easy - when you're sad, if you have Jesus, you have joy and you can smile. If you have to go to the dentist and are nervous or angry, if you have Jesus, you have joy and you can smile. If your sister punches you in the face and you're crying and bleeding and mad, if you have Jesus, you have joy and you can smile.

That seems right. It seems like people have always said that Christians need to always be happy and have a smile on their face and not let anything get them down.

But then I thought about it again.

If we are created in the image of God and our God is a God of deep, deep emotion (and not just the good ones!), why then does it follow that we as Christians should only emote happy things? When we're sad, we can be sad. When we're angry, it's ok to be angry, as long as we don't sin in our anger. Any emotion that we feel is alright - as long as it doesn't lead to or cause us to sin. If we teach that joy means happiness and that to follow Christ means always being happy, then we are teaching that sadness, sorrow, pain, anger, disappointment, depression, etc are sinful feelings.

I think that the opposite of Joy is Despair. If we lived our lives without the hope of Christ, it is far easier to fall into Despair. But we can have Joy because we have hope in the truth of Christ. We can be sad and angry and all those things and still have JOY because we can still trust Jesus to take care of us. That sounds naiive and too easy, but I think it's meant to be that way.

Our joy is not predicated upon our circumstances; our happiness can be.

So after all that, my question to you is:

Do you have joy?
Is it an easy thing for you to remember?
Do you have the wonderful-love-of-my-blessed-Redeemer-way-down-in-the-depths-of-your-heart? (thanks Psalty!)

The Marriage Builder

I'm not married. Nor have I ever been married. So when I recommend the thing I'm about to, I want you to know that it's coming from a perspective of someone who watches other people's marriages and hears the marriage secrets of her married friends, but has no first-hand experience.

For a class this semester I'm reading The Marriage Builder by Larry Crabb. This might be a broad statement, but I honestly believe that anyone is married, will be married or has even thought about getting married needs to read this book. And even if marriage isn't on your mind, this book has some great insight for relationships in general.

Crabb writes from a counselor's point of view for other counselors, but he writes from a personal perspective of his own relationship with his wife. His intention is to help couples find that elusive "oneness" that most people expect in their marriage but can't seem to find. The crux of it all isn't better communication, better sex, or better action, but resting in the love of Christ. "Suuuure..." you say, "It's as easy as that." I have problems as a single lady resting in the love of Christ; I can't imagine what life would be like trying to live with someone else who also can't find rest in Him and both of us are struggling to have the other person meet our needs that can only be fulfilled in Christ.

Most devotional books really bother me because they say a lot but don't help see how to put those principles into concrete practice. Crabb, on the other hand, has concrete ways to daily practice ministering to one's spouse.

I have about 9 pages to go to end this bad boy. So if on page 147 he says "I love satan" or something like that, I'm very sorry (for SOOO many reasons). But if it ends as well as it has been going this whole time, you'll be in for a very helpful and eye-opening read.

Is anyone else reading something that we should all be reading? If so, what is it?

Talk Thursday // Eggs, Deities, and Marketing

Oh man! I totally got you guys! That was awesome! You totally thought!!...but I!!....oh man!! April Fool's Day classic!! Making you think there was no Talk Thursday! Bahahahahahaha!!!!!

Ok, that was a lot of exclamations. I apologize. Moving on....

Seeing as how we're in the spirit of the Easter season and there are so many different opinions and viewpoints on this particular holiday, I'd like to ask how you celebrate Easter. I assume that most of my readers don't have kids (and by "readers" I mean the 3 of you that I KNOW don't have kids), but if you did, what would you teach your children about Easter, the bunny, Jesus? How did your parents explain all of it to you? What did you do when you found the Easter Bunny wasn't real but he was your creepy neighbor? Whoa...weird.











And Bonus question: who would win in a street fight - Jesus or the Easter Bunny? Jesus has angels, the Easter Bunny has hard-boiled eggs flying 87 miles/hour at your face.






And go!

Bad Move

Deep Red by Hugo Boss = fabulous

Too much Deep Red by Hugo Boss = nosebleed



And that's what I get for opting for sleep rather than a shower this morning.....

An Addendum

So I went to that concert the other night and was feeling guilty for not being that "into it" - the band Fee was playing some praise and worship music and I just not feeling the movement of the Spirit like the rest of the auditorium seemed to be feeling. However, some time around Francesca Battistelli's sultry tunes, something started stirring. Once Crowder was done and MercyMe came on, God WHACKED me over the head with an epiphany. I will share it with you now. As trite and repetitive as CCM tends to be, if it's speaking the message of the hope of the gospel, I can't dislike it. Now, there are some Christian artists out there who, like Joel Osteen, want to wrap Jesus in bubblegum and daisies, whilst picturing Him skipping through a meadow with unicorns and fairies, but there are the few and bold artists who speak about real life. These artists don't paint the gospel with rose-colored glasses, but they sing to the reality of our depravity but the hope of the sovereignty and love of Almighty God. Artists like Caedmon's, Alli Rogers, Shaun Groves, JJ Heller, Shane & Shane....these people help me remember that as often as I want to condemn the CCM stereotype, all Christian artists are singing His glory and His renown. And I would be absolutely hypocritical if I said that though musically it may not be as intricate and well-composed as some and though it might be overplayed and repetitive it was bad music. Because if someone or something is declaring the message of the gospel of Christ and proclaiming His name, it is good.

Now I still can't handle the lollipop happiness of the CCM DJ's (sorry KCMS, but you're barely on a pre-set button). But I am glad that the Lord helped me see that His glory is far greater than any opinion I hold.

Ok, soapbox = over. That's what you get for going to Christian concerts... =)

Talk Thursday // Ashamement

When I tell people about the thing I'm about to share, often the look I receive is one of disgust, of utter sadness, of confusion...some of hatred. Because of these reactions, I tend to not share this particular thing about me. It's not pretty, it's not cool - not even that it's so not cool it's almost cool, kinda like being able to sing the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" theme song (which incidently I've sang like 87 times in the last 2 weeks...).

ANYHOO....

here is my confession:








If prompted, I could probably sing the entire works of one Carman Domenic Licciardello. Otherwise known to most people as "Carman that weird Christian singer guy who now waxes his chest." This really shouldn't be something that I share with people or even that I really want people to know about me. But it's the truth.

For some reason, I have this weird phobia of people thinking that I like/listen to contemporary Christian music. It doesn't bother me when people know I love southern gospel or 80's praise and worship (cause honestly, who DOESN'T love themselves some Maranatha music?! For shiz.). But current Christian music, especially if it's played on the Christian music station makes me feel "unhip" which is no bueno, because I am indeed so "hip" (the mere fact that I just used such words, especially with "" calls into question the validity of that statement).

This sprang up in my mind because tonight I'm going to a Christian concert - Family Force 5, Fee, the David Crowder Band, Mercy Me, Francesca Bastistelli (to name a few). However, I haven't really wanted to admit to anyone that I actually want to go. And it's not that I'm ashamed of Jesus; but we Christians have produced some pretty awful music and I think I view it like everyone else with just a shade of disdain. Even though these particular bands are quite good both lyrically and musically.

So the question today is 2-fold:

* How do you view Christian music? Especially in light of other FAR more talented acts out there who aren't Christian.
* What things are you going to claim ashamement for?

(Yes, I know, lexical nerds...ashamement isn't a word...you'll be strong)

And people wonder why Justin is my celebrity boyfriend...

(Let's not tell Jason Segel about him. K thanks.)

Chapstick

Recently, I've been missing blogging. The last several months have mostly been Talk Thursdays (or Fridays or Saturdays) with few other posts thrown in. We can chalk this up to my overly busy schedule, the fact that I actually have work to do during the day or the fact that I have nothing to say. You may choose anyone you want.

But in an attempt to get back to my roots (my roots being stealing awesome ideas from other people and parroting them as my own). I give you:

The Top Ten List of things that are better than having consistently chapped lips (such as I currently have)

10. Being stung by a bee in the lip - OOSTA!!
9. A splinter in my heel
8. Listening to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face"
7. A colonoscopy
6. Slapping my face repeatedly
5. Coffee stains on my dress slacks
4. That stupid "Where's the chapstick?" song on YouTube
3. Watered down, cold coffee
2. Jazz flutes
1. Watching people brush their teeth in the bathroom (that is just so gross, lady in the department down the hall)



Thanks sis, for the stealable material (they say imitation is the highest form of flattery...) =)