Time Heals Only What Was False

Almost eight months later, and I still love you more every day than I did the last. Everything has changed but you.

The Funniest Video of All Time

This makes me proud to speak Spanish...

Here, At The Well, We Serve

I've been going to Latter Rain youth group since my freshman year of high school. I've seen a total location change, and three different youth pastors. I've seen major changes in the dynamic of the group itself, be it in sociotypical characteristics or in the number of kids in attendance. It's a lot smaller right now than what it used to be, and the kids are more, er, rambunctious than I ever recall  them being before. But I still feel that God has BIG plans for this group. In fact, I know He does. I'm excited to see it unfold. It's a little bit awkward right now, because I wasn't here when the new pastor arrived, so the credit I've built up with the group in the past doesn't really count. I just need to find my niche. For now, I'm just hanging out, loving on some really cool kids.

New Hair!

Locks of Love!!!

Did Locks of Love today for the second time! It always amazes me how far ten inches of hair can go. My hair is shorter than it has been in a LOOOOONG time (though not the shortest it has ever been), and somewhere a kid with a debilitating disease is going to have the same hair as I do (I apologize in advance). I'm so grateful to be ABLE to give. Giving is a gift. 

21

I don't know why I expect more from you.
When I need you, you're never there.
                                                 here.
                                                   ere.
                                                     re.
                                                       e.
                                                         .
It's whatever.

Repairer Of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings

Devo For The Day/Week 

(I'm doing a week on this one. There's a lot here to digest!)

Isaiah 58

True Fasting

 ¹ “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.² For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.³ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.⁵ Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? ⁶ “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? ⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness^[a] will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. ⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, ¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.¹¹ The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.¹³ “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, 
and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Hot Chelle Rae

Ok, I'm going to take a moment to do some shameless promoting. People are just beginning to catch on to the awesomeness that is Hot Chelle Rae. Their song Tonight, Tonight is rumored to be the "song of the summer," but I love them for a few reasons more than that. First off, they are Christians. I absolutely adore bands who are willing to maintain their faith in a secular genre. If you want to be effective, reach people where they're at. Second, they add people on facebook. Not in the "like our page" sort of sense, but actually add you as a friend. That's just cool. Finally, they are totally multitalented. Ian Keaggy is not just a bassist/vocalist for the band, he is also an AMAZING photographer. He has helped shoot the music videos for the band (whenever he doesn't actually have to make an appearance, of course). Nash Overstreet is a talented journalist and writer (and the brother of Chord Overstreet, which I also consider a talent : P). Overall, these guys are headed to be the next big thing, so jump on the band wagon while you still can! This band is the real deal.

The BEST playlist of all time. Studying or not, this is the perfect line-up! I could (and have) listened to it on repeat... Click here to listen!!! Also, 8tracks.com is the best thing since YouTube. Do it.

Virginia Architecture

I loved all of the history of Lynchburg, VA. However, I think I found the architecture most interesting. Virginia has this amazing way of re-purposing gorgeous, Civil War era buildings, or building new structures around them. The juxtaposition is fascinating, and I found my imagination going full speed as we walked along the canal, starring at the edifices still marked for their original purposes. I watched a group of people constructing a new mosaic mural on the side of a wall that was originally marked by graffiti. The mural depicted the canal walk area in it's Civil War prime, and it was so beautifully intricate and detailed. It was so obvious the pride the people of the area had for the history surrounding where they lived. Even with the new high rises being constructed, they never forgot what came before.

Styer Wedding: June 11, 2011

   It never gets any less strange when the friends you grew up with get married. It seems that all of mine are, these days. People always say that the most awkward time of your life will be when you're a teenager. I think I'm going to have to disagree. "Twenty-somethings" is definitely the most awkward phase. Besides watching someone I have known since before the age of seven get married this weekend, I was also told by a close family friend, an "adult" more than I in my mind, whom I had always been firmly instructed to call by "Mrs. LastName" as a child, to refer to her by her first name. Thankfully, it was at the end of their visit, so I didn't need to put that into practice. Just the thought of it felt weird. Growing up is creepy. Not that I'm not excited about it; I view it as an adventure. It's just those tiny, habitual nuances that need to be changed that remind you of a part of your life that has passed, that carry with them the sort of awkwardness reminiscent of a small girl waddling around in her mother's heels. You want them to fit, and you know that they will eventually, but for now you're just lucky if you don't take a nose-dive to the kitchen floor in those things!

First Post

Hello! Welcome to the first post in this blog. It's a bit strange, but I think I'll get more used to it as time goes on. This is something I've always wanted to do, so I'm pretty excited about it! If you are following this, thank you. I consider it a great honor that you would care to delve into the craziness that buzzes about in my head on a daily basis. As it says in the "about me" section, this will be a little bit of everything. Una mezcla. It might not all be in English, words may not be used at all, but everything will have something to offer this blog. Thanks for bearing with my musings :)