Odds & Ends, Winner, and a Mini That Girl Moment

Thanks for leaving your favorite Psalm references in my giveaway. I wish I had a book for each of you. buuuuuuut, I will be seeing Lisa Harper next weekend at Women of Faith in Indianapolis.

(Are you going to be there, too? That would make my weekend so much better! Shout out in the comments if you're going)



Unfortunately, she will be on stage and I'll be in the nosebleeds but maybe if she sees me donning my birthday princess crown on Saturday she'll grant my wish of nine more books to give away.....



back off, haters. I know it's very unlikely but please let the birthday princess have her dream. Maybe I can redeem myself and say something intelligent if I get to have her sign my book.

Anyway, one of you beautiful Bloggerotsky's got a ticket to ride....

Miss Deanna, you win!!

If you will email me I will get your book in the mail. His Love does ENDURE!


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I few weeks ago I contacted lovely Leah. My sister-in-law, Shannon, was having a birthday so I asked Leah to do some photos of the girls. The sitting fee was my gift to Shannon. She's on her own for the pics though! Why? I couldn't choose and would end up breaking my bank to get them all. K,H, E and their sweet cousin T (Shannon's niece) took their pics last night and they are already up! Visit the site and you will find a group pic, then T, E, K, and H. PRECIOUS. Leah did an outstanding job in the heat and with Baby Girl E, who I'm told was having none of it although miraculously I could not tell in that adorable photo.

Eat your heart out, Baby Gap.

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We are having VBS this week and I really covet your prayers as I am teaching the lessons. It is challenging at times but we have had amazing students and they LOVE learning their memory verses as well as hearing the Bible stories. This year our children's ministry leadership found a really inexpensive VBS kit for sale and we are doing "Good News Clues" which is a few years old and totally adorable. The kids are looking for clues and our little Gumshoes are loving it! Sorry if I am a blog slacker this week--it's a little crazy!

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Picture it. FBC Bicknell. Monthly Church Outreach Meal. Sunday Night.

I was listening to an older couple share about their family for a few minutes when they began to ask me questions about myself. They asked about my family, if I was "from around here" and what my family name was.

Then they asked how old I was. So I told them I would be turning 24 on August 8th.
The husband looked at the wife and said, "I guess this time next year you'll be an old maid. Heh heh heh."

My hands turned clammy. My face possessed a horrified look. Forgive me for my naivete, but I thought 24 and even 25 were still relatively young. Regardless, my mind flashed photos of an elderly me surrounded by cats yelling at the neighbor kids to "Keep it down out there, ya hear?!"

In a moment I went from That Girl to That Old Maid.


Oh well.


I like cats anyways.

Giveaway Winner and HodgePodge.

Erica, come on down! With the help of the Random Integer Generator, you have won yourself a copy of Holy Roller! Email me for details!
As for the rest of yas, I am doing another giveaway tomorrow so stay tuned and your dreams might come true...Everything I do, I do it fooooooor you.

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Anybody been watching The Next Food Network Star? it's so crazy this season. I have always loved it, since the first season with Guy Fieri, and it's a fun little Sunday night treat. Although I will tell you that my kitchen tends to get a little messier on Sunday nights after I watch because I feel "inspired." Try feeling "inspired" when your cupboards consist of boxed mac and cheese and cans of refried beans.
But don't cry for me Argentina. I do have some produce in there too. Not in the cupboards, of course.
Anyway.

I really love that sweet Melissa. I think she is charming and out of the top three I would Tivo her show. I think that even though she is not a professional chef, she is a mom so she can identify with a lot of FN's audience. I enjoy watching her, and as someone who also possesses frenetic energy, I appreciate her style. I think she would calm right down in a taped setting and be really popular. I'd buy her line of pots and pans. She has stayed really positive in her relationships with the other contestants as well, which I really respect.
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Last night I stayed at my dad's house with the three muchkin princesses. H, the redhead, slept pretty much sideways and I didn't sleep well because I felt like one of us would fall off the bed eventually. So I slept with one eye open, and I'm feeling groggy at work today. I need Robert Goulet to show up with some of those nut (preferably almond) snacks he's been advertising.



I think that's it for now. Still wanting another pronto pup...There's always the Knox County Fair!

Blue Plate Special of Conviction.

My friend Andi filled me in on a little piece of goodness in my journey to being healthy. the sloooow, tedious, monotonous, mymusclesache, is it really worth it to give up my beloved french fries, I miss Dr. Pepper, I GAINED weight this week, Lord please help me not to go to Sweet Stuff Bakery today kind of journey.


Did I mention that eating "right" and working out are two of my favorite things in the world to do?

So I had a good laugh this morning waiting in my gmail inbox and I just gots tah share with yas.




May we all be inspired to get in shape even when the only thing we want to Shred is some chicken for an enchilada.


Wha? Nobody else had that thought?





Meh.




It is from the book "Perfect Weight America" by Jordan Rubin:

With apologies to King David, I now offer you the Dieter's Psalm, based on Psalm 23:

Stict is my diet. I must not want

It maketh me lie down at night hungry.

It leadeth me past the confectioners.

It trieth my willpower.

It leadeth me in the paths of alteration for my figure's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the aisles of the pastry department,

I will buy no sweet rolls, for they are fattening.

The cakes and the pies, they tempt me.

Before me is a table set with green beans and lettuce.

I filleth my stomach with liquids.

My day's quota runneth over.

Surely calorie and weight charts will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in fear of the scales forever.

Hoof -in-Mouth Disease.

Anyone have any good stories about sticking the foot in the mouth?


I could use some cheering up. I think I said the wrong thing last night that really intimidated someone. Dang it. Well, I didn't meeeean it like it sounded. I am pretty sure if I would have said it in person...

nope. even MORE awkward. If that's possible.

nevermind.



C'mon. Share your stories. Misery loves company :D

Days Like This...

...make me long for the day when all the wrongs will be made right.


Please pray for my friends jan and janet who have lost ones so dear to them.

I cry as I write this-


out of the great sorrow and burden I feel for them tonight...

&

out of the overwhelming love of a God who bears us as we bear the burdens of this {sometimes} ugly world.




May you know the love of One greater than your sorrows.
May you hug the stuffings out of someone you love today.

How much do I desperately want one of those design shows to come overhaul my really awkward-looking office?

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or Clinton and Stacy to come overhaul my rather-awkward looking wardrobe(Providence girls: this is of course with the exception of those fab gauchos I got on sale and then the button fell off...you had to be there at Laundry Day...holla atcha girl if you loved those pants-got a cute short sleeve purpl turtleneck to match...oops, I digress...) and teach me how to dress for success without showing my muffin top?

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or Niecey Nash (one of Seth's idols...) from Clean House to come clean out my car? That's right, I said car. Not apartment. If you saw my car you'd think I lived out of it anyway. In fact, I have to say that when I am driving down the road, you look over from the inside of your cozy SUV which you have opted not to let your kids eat in, and shiver at the utter destruction that is Darla the Daewoo. I like to call it Creative Chaos. Others like to call it a landfill. You say tomato, I say tuh-mah-to.

(King Triton and the Gnomes from the Daewoo village say hello, by the way.)


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wouldn't it be amazing? Then you could watch "That Girl" have epic fails and "That Girl..." moments in LIVING COLOR....

not to mention praising His holy name that those poor trolls and gnomes got set free and lauren finally got some fashion sense.
because we know it would have to be the Lord himself because that would be truly...
well...
you know...
miraculous.

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Not the Place for Politics.

The big Washington bullies should leave Bristol Palin alone. The big Washington bullies should leave Sasha and Malia Obama alone, too.

I am not apolitical. I have many political opinions, and I refuse to discuss the majority of them here because this blog is not about politics. However, the children of candidates are not a partisan issue. They are not a bipartisan issue. They are children, trying to make good choices in the face of paparazzi and unimaginable media scrutiny.

These children do not create nor do they enact policies of any kind. They are young ladies who are trying to lead normal lives in a frenzied media circus where everything is being picked apart by the appallingly venomous ways of the politico.

They didn't ask for this. I pray for them. You should too.

Ode To Naps.

A haiku.


Sunday afternoon.
Beautiful time for a nap.
Jesus loves naps too.



I can prove my haiku scripturally.

it's called a SABBATH.


Holla to Terri and Jenny C for reminding me that naps are goooooood.
In fact, as I wrote the devo today, I reminded the people who receive it that "Sometimes the best thing you can do for Jesus is to take a nap."

Cos I get grumpy without enough sleep.
and there is nothing better than a good, solid, peaceful nap!

the end.

Photos and Mind Dump.

There are Kristin and Hann in all their glory: matching t-shirts and eating subway.





the kid loves to eat. Must be genetic. And check out the purple headband. I have a good feeling she wanted the purple one not because it matched, but precisely because it was indeed purple. I already know she looks like me when she eats. You should see her at Mi Pueblo...

• Go to Judy's blog for the whole story on my little characters and their hilarious ways.

• It's official: I am the new Director of University Housing at OCU! Big girl job...YAY!
• I'm looking around this apartment, and it's not pretty, folks. I think about moving and I never want to buy anything again. I want to give the majority of my worldly goods to Goodwill (not so much because I am a giving person--I am, but not that giving...I just don't want to move all of this crap.) Wonder if they do pick-up...
• I really want to see a couple of movies coming out. Hello, Made of Honor!! Seth said he didn't want to see it (he said he already met his quota of chick flicks in our relationship. I say one [27 Dresses, which he enjoyed, btw] is not sufficient. I watched two Bourne movies in one night!! I do love the Bourne movies in all fairness). So I'm looking for someone to go with me. Any takers, blogerotsky?
• I want Starbucks so badly right now. My body is screaming for a Caramel Macchiato. Sweet baby those things are good!
• I have been reading this amazing book called The Passionate Church. If you guys are serious about discipleship in the Church Universal, you want this book. You really, really want it. LIFESHAPES--I soooo want to teach this concept!
• God has been doing some very significant things in my heart for church growth beginning about six months ago. Little did I know then that we would see God use it at my precious FBC Bicknell...God is moving, and I can't wait for the opportunity to share more about that with you...stay tuned!!
• One of my lifelong dreams is to be a radio Deejay. How fun would that be? Not sure where that came from...
• www.perrynoble.com had some fabulous blogs in the last couple of days. Single ladies (don't know how many of you read this blog) please check out the post directed to singles--and don't settle for anything less than that!
• please pray for me. It's going to be a busy week, and I need Jesus to do some big things...like finals-I would love to pass all my classes with flying colors this semester and maybe even make the dean's list again...Your prayer is appreciated.
• Pray for my friend that I tutor. His final is on Wednesday and he's pretty nervous. Can't give you his name, but God knows :)
• please pray also-tonight is our last meeting for Response this year--my heart is weeping for these women that I love more than anything!!

love you all! Thanks for your prayers!

Thursday Night Mind Dump...

• I just had the best hot fudge sundae. I love hot fudge--it's better than just palin ol' chocolate.
• Becky is going to take my headshots this weekend for the new website (so you know that they will be legit not because of who's in front of the camera, but who is behind it)...
• It's official--thatgirlministries.com wins. Thanks for all of your help, kind words, and support.
• Pray for Andrew as he has surgery tomorrow morning.
• I went to a really legit concert tonight.
• Watched the Jonas Bros. on (shh, don't say it too loud) Oprah today. They have the cutest, most precious little family. If I was a little younger, I'd totally be teenybopping for that crew.
• Lots of school stuff and stress next week.
• Seth wants me to learn to play the mandolin. It's his dream. I would pretty much walk through fire for that man, so it looks like I will be learning to play the mandolin.
• If I see one more this-is-hardly-ever-a-battleground-stat-but-we-need-the-extra-delegates-so-we-will-run-a-political-ad-every-threepointfive-minutes-commercial, I am going to scream.
• My dream of a big-kid swingset is hanging on. I told Nicole that I'm going to the hill of battle for this one :)
• Grey's returned tonight. Can't wait to watch it on the tivo tomorrow night.
• I love love love this spring weather we've been having,. but my dorm is hotter than a sheepdog in maui. I'm telling you, the compressor is down, and on behalf of everything good and holy, if we don't get some air up in here, I am going to sweat away to nothing....
• ...Wait a minute--that sounds like a diet plan I could handle :)
• Beth Moore blogs. That is so all I need to know.
• I love Chi flat irons. I am spoiled when I go to Terri's and use hers.
• that's all I got. I'm going to sleep!

Isaiah 43:18-19.

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

[yep. that's what's up. that's what He is doing. i believe Him.]

• I have a new attitude.

• I am believing God for more than I have in a long time.

• This weekend really encouraged me beyond my imagination.

• I start singing with the praise team soon. (Carol: "I have been talking to God about that...")

• Once again, I am faced with decisions. but I am walking in faith.

"...Just Another Manic Monday..."

"wish it was sunday...


'cause that's my fun day..."


I would go on, but I don't want to make you sick with all that cheese.




I need to slow down. Mondays are not the only "manic" days in my life. I'm tired. Exhaustion is setting in. I want to sit down and have a glass of tea. UNINTERRUPTED. I want to be able to watch a whole movie again at some point (July is looking good for that. Sadly, I'm serious...) and have two-hour lunches with friends and not feel bad for not checking my phone three times. I want to hang out at Sonshine Kids on Wednesdays. I want to surf the internet for stupidities and download the rest of my CDs onto my Ipod. I want to I want to have time to sit for an hour in the presence of the Most High. I want to have a date night with my boyfriend. I want to read a book that I actually enjoy-- (maybe tomorrow since I will be at Blessings--come visit!).


This sounds like a gripe session. I realize that. But I am so thankful that I serve a God who allows me to wear myself out at times to remind me that I cannot and should not operate in my own strength. He says no. It doesn't work--check out John 15:5 and my last post on Abiding. The bottom line is this: maybe I am crazy for being so busy. It's my own fault. it's my own weakness that sometimes I don't know how to prioritize or have boundaries. But I can't wait to see what God does with this weakness!

Abide.

sorry for the lack of postage.

hahahah.


get it?!!?

postage...



yeeeaaaaahh.



It's just that I'm exhausted in every way possible.
so I will keep this short and sweet:

"That girl..." is learning what it means to abide. I don't mean the kind of abide where you sit for hours in your big red chair with God's Word open. I'd love to do that more than just a few minutes every day but these last few weeks have been jam-packed lately and I don't have hours to sit in God's presence.

I mean the kind of abide where you hide behind your Father's pantleg watching with one hand over your eye waiting for something to happen.

see the difference? Maybe only I understand this post....
whatever. I am going to continue for my own sake.

I mean the kind of abide where all you can do is sit on your Father's lap and sob at the end of the day knowing that His sovereignty is more than you can handle and all that you can't take in but at the same time all that you can't ignore and all that gives you hope.

I'm sleepy. peace out.

one more thing...

God also abides in us. WOW.

A Bad Word According to My Vocabulary...

...is no.

Why can't I say it more?

Someday I will learn.


(Seth just texted me in the middle of writing this blog: "We need to learn how to say no.")




so true.

Yay. and Mind Dump.

Yay for Thursday nights!

• I made a pie. It didn't turn out that well. But everyone liked it (or so they said!)
• DAVID ARCHULETA! BROOKE WHITE! need I say more?
• I left groceries at the grocery. Hate it when I do that! Then the walk of shame..."so I left some groceries here, and uh...."
• Seth arranged for me to go to a very special leadership conference in September and I was so moved and grateful that he got special permission for me to attend. He loves me a lot and I'm thankful for him.
• Terri's daughter (and my new friend!!) Sarah is having a sleepover tomorrow night with some of my other new friends. And I'm going to crash it after I spend some time with Seth's sweet parents!!! Hope they don't mind when I show up with my pj's for a good time (and maybe some chocolate??)...
• Maybe I might be doing Ash's wedding invitation addressing sometime this weekend. I hope to see both Ash and Heather in the process! I LOVE GIRL TIME (can you tell?)
• I am getting baptized by immersion on Sunday. (More on that this weekend: hopefully with pictures...B--can you help a sister out??!)
• I need a new cell phone.
• My life is good.
• I want to learn to play the guitar like Sandra McCracken.
• God has been giving me understanding of Psalm 86:11. You should read it. It's challenging.
• Please pray for Andrew--not feeling well this week--doc appointment this weekend. I love this little boy and am praying for a complete and total healing!
• While I'm on subject, please also remember my friends Brandon and Jeannette. They are fellow religious studies students and husband and wife. Currently Brandon is in Kuwait serving our country, and I saw Jeannette today--it broke my heart to see how much she was missing Brandon and worrying about him. Please pray for them both as it takes its toll. Praise God for brave folks like Brandon who give up so much that we can be free!
• Does anyone know of a way to get Angie the dog to STOP licking me? I know I'm sweet, but c'mon! ha.
• I was reminded tonight that a seminary degree is beneficial for lifelong ministry involvement-even if that ministry is chasing three-year-olds, giving bottles, and rocking babies to sleep. But I am still praying that someday God will make a way for me to have a vibrant women's ministry. Who knows, maybe both at once...I am nothing if not ambitious!
• Confession: I watch the heathen show "Lipstick Jungle" and then have text discussions with my awesome sister-in-law, Shannon. Yes, it's rotten and I shouldn't, but I do.
• It's Grey's Anatomy's fault. I haven't had a new episode in so long I needed some drama (not like I have enough living with 70+girls!).
• I love Amos Lee's music. His voice is like buttah and you should listen to it!
• I think that Emmanuel Lewis and Gary Coleman should do a show together on cable. Rachel and I would be their biggest fans!
• Easter is coming up soon. I love Easter and celebrating the Resurrection--proving Jesus didn't come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people ALIVE.

That's it. I think. I love you guys.

Thursday Night Mind Dump.

Hey.

• I love my life. The joy, the sorrow, the beauty, the ugly. I love it all.




• My friends Jeremy and Katie are now parents (see the prayer request post somewhere below) and they have the sweetest, cutest, dimple-faced, dark haired little boy EVER.



• The retreat is this weekend. I won't be posting, but you can be praying:
  
  

• Didn't my love do a good job on the graphic?
• Speaking of "Setharooskie," as my nieces call him, he came to visit me tonight and it was the best part of my day. Gosh I love that guy.
• Plus, Jami came over to hang out with us. BONUS!
• A blog is coming on Transparency. look for it...
• Watching American Justice right now. LOVE IT.
• We came in waaay under budget for food for the retreat due to people's generosity. I love the Body of Christ!
• God is better to me than I deserve, even when I choose not to see it.
• I watched Izzy yesterday for the first time in, like, three weeks. I wish you all would have seen her face when I walked in! It was precious. I KNOW she was glad to see me. And she's sitting up by herself now. : D
• Jami and I were talking about being good moms tonight because of her sweet sister Stacey, who from what I've heard is an awesome mama to her three little boys (Jami and I have developed a plan for arranged marriage of her three nephews to my three nieces). I can only hope to be as good of a mom as some of the women I know. I pray that I can be like them.
• If I don't get a new Grey's episode soon, I may go into a serious funk.
• Pray for Michal and Rochelle as they travel to Florida (must be nice.) trying not to be jealous :)
• So glad David Archuleta is going to dominate American Idol.
• I need a vacay too! Looking forward to Adam and Claire's wedding up north. That's the closest I'll get to one in a while!
• INTERACTIVE: I think Seth and I are going to the OCU's spring formal in April, and I am gonna buy a new dress, dang it. So should it be black or red?
• God is going to move this weekend. I'm looking forward to watching Him.
• If you are reading this, I love you!

Chatty Cathys. And why I got my feelers hurt.

Don't you hate it when you hear people talking unkindly about you?



so do I.



This one time, I was in a bathroom stall last summer, and I heard a friend come into the room, oblivious to the fact that I was using the potty. She started trashing on me and didn't know I was there. Awkward. I just sat there and waited it out so that she didn't feel worse.

People are always watching or listening. And they certainly aren't deaf. That happened to me again this morning when I got back to school. yuck.

Let that be a lesson to us all. Reminds me of that scene in Ocean's 11 when Julia Roberts tells Andy Garcia that in his hotel, there's always someone listening.

Even if I hadn't heard what was said about me, God did. And I'm not perfect, but I've been through a lot. And He knows that. The kind of folks that will pat you on the back to your face and do something else when you turn around are the kind of friends I can do without.



Now it's awkward. And they really do think I'm "that girl..."

and not in a good way.



Lesson: Shut up if you can't be nice, lauren.

Thursday Morning Mind Dump - 2/21/08

• What's up with the NY Times waiting a while to release the McCain story? Something rotten in the state of New York...and other places.
• No school for Laur today. Which means I haven't been to a single class this week. No school tomorrow either. Ack. I kind of forget how to go now.
• Nicole got the third season (and let me borrow, b/c I'm the only friend she has that will watch it with her...) of that wretched but interestning show "Beauty and the Beast" for you older blog readers, it had Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman and was set in the sewers of NY. I knew there were beasts (aka RATS) down there, but not 6'3 ones!!
• Seth still has his headache so please keep praying for him to feel better. He's going to the doc today, I think.
• I hate it when Seth is sick and we have bad weather on Thursdays because he got all of his meetings moved to Tuesdays so that he could watch Grey's with me in Oakland City. :(
• Check out Keith Meece's new blog sometime soon. He is a good friend and a pastor. He and his wife Jo Ann and their sweet son Noah are definitely a blessing to me!
• I got some really pretty nail polish from Terri. it's so cute and opaque. It's called "Bubble Bath" by OPI. Now that I have pretty much stopped biting my nails, it's quite a treat to paint them!
• I infected my roommate with the flu/bronch bug I had. Rachel is sick now too. Dang it!
• I am really looking forward to spring right now. I miss the sunshine today.
• little Andrew is feeling sick today. Pray for him please.
• The financial support is coming in strong for my Haiti mission trip in June. God has provided my deposit already that is due on March 1 and it's awesome not to worry and let God have control!
• I am now going to watch "No Reservations" (such a GREAT film) with my bests here at school and I'm super excited!

be careful in the weather! xoxo

Mas Mind Dump.

On more thing...If Chuck Norris can roundhouse kick invisible people in the face, how come he can't get Mike Huckabee more votes?

that is all.

Thursday Morning Mind Dump.

• Dang. I am TIRED. The past couple of nights, my roommate Rachel and I have stayed up way too late solving all of the world's problems.
• If Romney really does drop out, I am gonna be mad. What happened to the days of not knowing the candidate until the convention?? yuck.
• I have a love/hate relationship with Tuesdays and Thursdays. I think I am spoiled rottem by the fact that I only have one class on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
• I can't wait for the SCA Women's Bible Study RETREAT.
• VALENTINE'S DAY=7 days to go!!! (My favorite holiday...weird, but I will fill you in on that in a later post...)
• I have finally made some decisions (cringe, I hate doing that) and some of them are going to require a whole lot of faith. (more on this later...) oy vey. God spoke to me the spring of my freshman year and told me we were going to have an adventure together....We are still on that adventure, but my youthful trust is slowly becoming more of an adult practicality (which I despise...) so I am less inclined to think "adventure=fun!!" oy vey again.
• If anyone knows of a fantastic local employment opportunity, please let me know. For summer, needs to be flexible because I am going to Haiti for a week in June.
• Selena made me the best cd EVER this week. I will post the playlist later but trust me--it's life-changing. and she is a great sister.
• This is the column for my add friends that want to know what's up for me. Not that they read this far...
• I need to do grocery shopping.
• Terri T. is really cool.
• Shout out to Jami for shaping young minds today.
• Ann Romney has serious hair volume. (watching CNN)
• that's all, folks.