new life mantra

be silly.

be honest. 

be kind.

I believe that these three things are the beginnings of good things that follow.

Silliness is, for me, an action of vulnerability.  It's showing a part of myself that I don't necessarily share with everyone.  Don't get me wrong - I love jokes, I love banter, I love laughing; but my truest silliness is beyond little quips and knock-knock jokes.  I speak in strange accents.  I tell stories in lively ways.  I dance around (I can't really dance, thus, silly).  I sing.  It's not for everyone.  But I do need to remind myself that silliness is good, and laughing is better, and smiling is one of my favorite things that I've recently re-discovered.

(Would you believe that for a time, smiling was as foreign to me as the Great Wall of China?  Smiles felt strange and disconnected on my face.  I'm so happy that time is over.  In fact, I'm pretty happy.:)

Honesty is almost a given in anything.  There will be little to no success in a relationship if you aren't honest.  It starts with you and goes outwards, with every relationship.  I also believe that, though sometimes "the truth hurts," it can always be delivered gently and carefully.

Kindness is one of my favorite things, ever.  I believe everyone deserves kindness, even the person who hurt you, even the person who has messed up his life, even the person who has hurt others.  I strive to be kind every day, to everyone.

If I could add anything to this list, it'd be regarding respect.  It's so important.  I really value respect these days - it's a rough lesson to realize you don't have it.

~

heading home this afternoon for my first visit in a really long time, and I'm excited.  happy weekend :)

xoxo

mardi gras.

happy mardi gras, y'all!


Today marks the last day before the Lenten season begins.  I'm pretty excited about Lent this year because I'll be joining up with others from Baton Rouge to do work in our community and meet in small groups to encourage our own growth in the Lord and spirituality.  I don't think I'll be able to make the first meeting, though, and that's pretty bummy :(

Will you be giving anything up for Lent?  Or adding anything in to your day-to-day life to encourage your faith? I'd love to hear.  :)

Below are pictures from this weekend where I visited New Orleans for Mardi Gras for the first time in my life.  We stuck to tame parades and I had a total blast.  SO much fun.  You should definitely go next year :)

Matt & I at the piano bar in Pat O'Brien's - my new favorite thing

note:  hurricanes are both delicious and dizzying; cannot wait to have another 

Maroon 5 in Endymion on Saturday evening.  So cold.  So rainy.  SO fun. 

Matt and I waiting for Maroon 5 to go by, and laughing at Ellen being crazy with the camera 

Ellen and I after Endymion, showing off our goodies.  Yes, that is a light-up sword.  

IT.  WAS.  AWESOME. 

My pretty beads from Endymion :)  (here I'm choosing which ones to wear for Sunday's parade-tastic day, including Bacchus!)

 

Me and Allison!  I literally only saw her for five minutes.  But aren't these pictures just gorgeous??  I love them. 

Will Ferrell as the King of Bacchus!  So much awesome.  

Have a wonderful Fat Tuesday, friends.  Enjoy the things you'll be giving up while you can!  :)  

xoxo

peeks into my life.

Here are some totally random pictures of things in my life that are important to me.  Hopefully this will help you, mystery reader, learn a little more about me.

 the LSU Golden Band from Tigerland performing Pregame, my very, very favorite.

me and Chase, one of my first friends at LSU, in our gowns on graduation day 

Stephanie, me and Lauren, in our pledge whites for sigma phi lambda - this seriously makes my heart happy. 

me and Natalie, one of my small group ladies at the Wesley, and a seriously awesome person, at Chimes for our birthdays last December 

a ransom note from Mary and Ellen to Krysten, whom they'd trapped in my laundry room 

me and Ellen playing at the water fountains in Shreveport at the beginning of last summer 

Matt and I at an LSU football game last fall - the home opener :) 

Allison and I on our last night of being actives of sigma alpha iota 

one of the most beautiful cloud formations I have ever seen 

the Bright House, where I lived in Shreveport last summer, and I want to say Ellen is looking for something 

Ali, Eric, Mike, Rachel, Kelsey, me and Emily - the original class of 2007 freshmen at the Wesley, all ready to graduate in 2011  (we're missing May and Beth here, who also started with us in 2007)

me, Ellen and Mary Hannah on one of the most fun afternoons of my life 

my dad playing with my second-cousin Domenico - this moment made me pumped to have children, just so I can watch my dad play with them.  (not so pumped that I took immediate action, btw)

Hogsmeade in Harry Potter world 

my very, very favorite color pink 

me and Ellie while she was being crazay at my grandparents' house in 2010 

valentine's day flowers :)

thanks.

so because of this website... 

from thxthxthx.com

...now I want to write thank-you notes to everyone and everything.  Here's one of today's (I wrote 10 thank-you notes before lunch):

Dear 8/88, 12/88, 7/90 and 10/90,
Thank you for providing a perfect timeline for me and my three best girlfriends to be born into, in Illinois, California, Oklahoma and Louisiana (I think).  A lot has happened since y'all were around.  Thank you for being the start of something beautiful.
love, kelli

xoxo

proverbs 4:23

via kellimrichard on pinterest

Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.

For about two weeks, the first thing I did in the mornings was read Proverbs 3.  Not long after that, I began reading 4.  And now, without knowing this, one of my very best friends reminded me to read this verse in a moment of need.

I don't believe in coincidences, so I absolutely believe that I was being reminded of this simple truth from the Lord.  I spent all of yesterday with my mind in la-la land, and it ended with a situation last night that was a direct link.  Of course this is what happened.  This makes perfect sense to me.

So, today I'm spending my time sorting things out in my head.  I'm immediately feeling better.  This is a step in the right direction, but it's nowhere near perfect.  My thoughts should, instead, be on the Lord and glorifying Him in all I do.  It's one of the core beliefs I have - do everything for the Lord, even brushing your teeth, and it glorifies Him.  It's all about your intent and where your heart and mind are.

God, take these frets from me and show me what life's all about.  Forgive me for not giving my all to You first and foremost, and give me the strength and discipline to do so every single morning.  It's the least I can do.  Help me to see love and know love and give and share that love... Help me remember that You are the light by which I can see or do anything else in my life.  You deserve utmost thanks and praise.  Please accept this tiny offering of me.


amen.

xoxo

nothing changes.

sigma alpha iota crawfish boil - April 2010 - Dad, Kelli & Matt

Some things have been happening in my life that have made me nervous these past few days.  Nervous about change, whatever kind of change it is, is like a trademark of Kelli.  (maybe I should copyright it?)  And as I recently discovered about myself, it's hard for me to be excited about things if I don't know/understand the details.  Well, the details are becoming clearer, and it turns out that I'm pretty darn excited.  A few things still need to be settled, but everything is looking pretty good.  Pretty darn good.  :)

But the point of all this is to say that my nerves and fear are stemming from previous aches where I know the Lord is and has been working on me.  I have every reason to trust Him.  I know that He hears me every single time I call out to Him.  And nothing about who I am that I've figured out these last seven months changes, either.  I don't have to be anyone different, not at all.  I'm perfectly fine just the way I am.  I can go home for the weekend, to my cousin's for birthday cake and ice cream, to lunch with my small group ladies, to the Bridge with HPC, and it will be more than accepted.  There's no obligations.  It is what it is.. and what it is is quite lovely.  :)

Feeling happier every day.

xoxo

quick little prayer

my glorious and heavenly Father,

please don't leave my side.  new beginnings are great, and though they mark the ends of things, let my focus be on enjoyment.  let me see the good.  let me see the beautiful instead of focusing on details (You and I both know how much I love details, and how beautiful I think they are, but help me learn how to not let them always be my focus).

thank You for such a pretty day today.  all the rain last week was so necessary, and I'm so grateful for it, but today is simply lovely, and I'm really happy for it.  thank You for all the opportunities I have in front of me.  please help me choose to use my time, my passion, my heart wisely.  and help me develop an overarching, great Passion for You.

I can't wait to open my Bible and read more about You today.  thank You for the ability, freedom and chance to do just that.

let me be joyful in You always; let my fears be nothing compared to Your Greatness.

in Your presence,
amen

one of my favorite prayers I recite almost every day . . .

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

update on life

I'm going to be real with y'all:  I started this blog at another job where my main purpose was to sit and stare at an empty computer screen.  Since the eventual demise of weekly hours and our Internet usage was decimated, I got a little slack with the updates.  Oops... My bad.

So here's a little life update.

I have quit the aforementioned job and the other one I had at the time, and now work full-time for an architectural firm in downtown Baton Rouge.  I initially intended to attain a full-time job for January - August so that I could catch up on some debts while awaiting the nursing school verdict, but now it's seeming like I might be around here for awhile.  Not really sure how I feel about that.  But making money will be nice and I'm not sure I'll want to rush back into the world of not making money.  Also, I've recently been complimented on my mad writing skills, and I've been thinking, maybe that's what I want to do instead.  I have no idea.  (In fact, if you, mystery reader, have an idea of what I might be when I grow up, pretty please share...)

My life is better than it has been in too long of awhile.  Y'all... God is awesome.  He and I had quite the chat on Sunday and He filled me up like He never has before.  This week has been so great, so blessed.  I'm looking forward to every single day with Him, like I've never felt before.  Ah, wonderfulness.  His wonderfulness.  I might share some of that chat with you later on.

In my spare time, I watch a lot of 24 with my roommate, do a lot of sleeping on the couch, budget every penny of my life out, and daydream about my upcoming work outfits (and some weekend ones).  I didn't know I had it in me- but I really like clothes.  I'm working on my closet and all the inspiration I could possibly get, so be prepared for some more fashion-themed posts.

I'm also really excited to have time to read again.  I spend my lunch hour every day reading (lately it's been the last four installments of the Harry Potter series, currently halfway through Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) and I'm so glad to read.  It makes my heart (and mind) happy.

I've been running, though my goal of a half-marathon in March is now ridiculously out of reach, so I'll find some other running goal to meet and I'll meet it.  I really did like it up until it felt more like a chore.  Maybe I'll get to that "runner's high" place and never want to look back and will never be able to stop running.

more soon.  promise.

xoxo

falling in love.

I'm thinking about this way too much for my own good.

But a part of me wants that head-over-heels feeling, the wondering if he wants to kiss me, wants to date me, feels the same way about me that I do him.

Alas, I don't really know how to make this happen.

Praying for patience.  And meditating on beauty and what a Christly woman looks like.  And giving my heart to God every day.  He does take good care of it.

hope something works out soon.

xoxo

a few thoughts

Sorry for my lack of updating.  :(

But this is what's been going on...

- I'm getting better and better every day, and I'm really proud of myself for this.
- Ladies' League is doing so well, and it's so wonderful to be a part of it.  Leah and I are planning a Christmas get-together and I'm really excited about it!
- My mom came to a Thanksgiving dinner for phi lamb with me last night, and I got to tell everyone in the room why I'm thankful for her.  It was wonderful.  I'm so blessed that my mom is my mom.  She is so wonderful.  I'm so thankful.
- We're going on chapter retreat for phi lamb tonight and it'll last most of the day tomorrow- so glad for time with all of these beautiful women!
- I'm pumped for Christmas.  Straight-up.  I'm pumped.  My gifts are already coming together!
- We got a new chair in our apartment.  It's one of my favorite chairs of all-time.  So so so so so so excited!
- Working on time management, one of my favorite things.
- The Wesley Foundation has been incredibly blessed by Drew this year.  I'm so thankful for him and his heart being involved at the Wesley, and for pursuing a friendship with me.

Lastly, I've been blessed with wonderful friendships that are growing, all in their own ways.  Shout-outs to follow...

Mom: I know you are my mom, but you are also my friend, and not only that, my very best friend.  I'm so blessed by you.  I'm so thankful you're my mom.  I love talking to and laughing with you, and I oftentimes don't feel like I deserve such a special person in my life, but I do, so I hope to always be making the best of it.  I love you. (I lahve you.)
Krysten: I love being your best friend and you being mine.  I'm looking forward to being in that 2%, and always being your friend.  Always.
Laura: If being your friend is the reason I'm in phi lamb, then that's enough for me.  I love every second I get to spend with you, and I'm definitely looking forward to running together all the time.
Shelby: I'm SO blessed to be your little!  SO SO SO blessed.  It's wonderful that your story is so similar to mine, and that you just listen.  I love it.  I hope we're friends for a long, long time.
CJ: I know you're my cousin but whatever.  You're a wonderful friend, too, and I love just being able to talk to you.  I hope we grow even closer, and stay so close, for forever.
Stephanie:  I love you and I love that we're both in phi lamb!  I'm so proud of you for doing the hard thing with SAI.

I've also been reading the Bible more and more, and it really is a wonderful, living Word, and I am looking forward to reading it more and more and learning more and more.  Praise God for that.

xoxo

I am washed by the Water.

A beautiful, wonderful friend recently told me about this image and I've been thinking about it a lot lately.  It's thought-provoking, to say the least.

You and God are in a boat in the middle of the ocean.  Literally, the middle of the ocean... there is nothing around you but the boat, the Lord, and the sea.  In your hands, you clutch a jar filled with dirt, muck and grime- it is everything you harbor in your heart that is not of the Lord, that does not glorify Him.  It is made up of grudges, tears, heart aches, curse words, the deeds you've done before you were wed, and the guilt associated with it all... everything in your life that does not glorify Him.  Further, it is your pain that people of the world have given to you, for whatever reason, whatever the story.  The Lord takes this jar from you and empties it into the water.  You struggle to grab it back, leaning over the side of the boat and splashing the dirty water into your jar, but it was mostly dirt; it has dissipated and it is gone.  The Lord reminds us of this gently, and is there for us (literally present at this moment) when He takes it.

The things I am learning from this story, if it is as true as it seems to be:
1.  When we ask God to take away our hurts, and forgive us of them, He does it.
2.  When He takes these things away, we always want them back because they are familiar and comfortable.  But the Lord didn't create us to be comfortable, and the pain we feel here really is from Him, but it is being replaced by His peace, hope and joy.
3.  The things of this world are dirty and gross.
4.  The Lord is present when our hurt is real.  He does not leave our sides when our hearts ache, whether it is because of real hurt or the pain of being uncomfortable.
5.  Our sin is small compared to the ocean of God's grace (referring to the beautiful lyric, "If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking..."), but it was not a small feat for God to overcome it, for Jesus to.
6.  Everything the Lord wants of us is for our greater good.  E.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.
7.  Giving things up is good for you.
8.  Water cleanses and is the wingman to many of Jesus' miracles.

I'm preaching to the choir here, just fyi... I'm desperately trying to learn how to forgive, and it's really, really hard.  This lack of forgiveness is a bucket of muck in and of itself, and just coming close to letting God dump it out is terrifying.  #truth  :)

A quote that I love and find to be quite true.

"The cure for anything is salt water- sweat, tears or the sea."  (Jack Dinesen)

And the most beautiful truth of all.

This is the one that came by water and blood - Jesus Christ.  He did not come by water only, but by water and blood.  And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 
1 John 5:6

Water is beautiful and cleansing.  Let it wash you and bring you peace...

I'll be in prayer for you.

xoxo

Wowza!

Today I opened up blogspot for the first time in... ahem... awhile, and I was so happy to see my blog has gotten 353 page views!!!!   So whether it is the same person 353 times or a bunch of people, I just wanted to say thanks for taking time out of your day to read what I have to say.  I'm honored and humbled.  :)

You can follow my blog if you want, too!  I will update you on that when I know how to do it myself. 

I've had some ideas for some posts to make, so keep an eye out... I'm particularly excited about one I'll call Arts & Sciences.  It'll be good.  Come back and read it!

Have a beautiful day, y'all.

xoxo

Personality types

On April 7 of this year, I took a free online Meyers-Briggs personality test, and these were my results:

PERSONALITY TEST RESULTS
Ta-dah, your personality type is ISFJ!
Introverted (I) 79%, Extraverted (E) 21%
Sensing (S) 73%, Intuitive (N) 27%
Feeling (F) 90%, Thinking (T) 10%
Judging (J) 59%, Perceiving (P) 41%
or ISFJ.

Today, six months and ten days later, I took the same test, with these results:

PERSONALITY TEST RESULTS
Ta-dah, your personality type is ESFJ!
Extraverted (E) 50%, Introverted (I) 50%
Sensing (S) 55%, Intuitive (N) 45%
Feeling (F) 90%, Thinking (T) 10%
Judging (J) 73%, Perceiving (P) 27%
or ESFJ.


A summary of the categories and letter representations:

The first letter describes how you get re-energized.  Extraverts spend time with others and introverts spend time alone.  The specific amounts of time, of course, vary depending on the person, but this is generally true.

The second letter describes how you take in information from the world, what you observe, and how you think.  Sensors observe with their senses - what they see, colors, how things feel on their skin, tastes, smells, etc.  If you're intuitive, you think about things, ideas, etc, what it would be like to be in another person's position, etc.

The third letter is how you make decisions.  Feelers focus on the way things make them feel and their decisions are based on this.  Thinkers focus on what makes the most sense and other logical routes.

The final letter is how you work with your time.  Judgers are planners and perceivers are spontaneous and much more comfortable with flying by the seats of their pants.

So, for me, this is what these letters mean:

When I took the test in April, I was much more introverted.  Today I'm 50/50 introverted and extraverted.  I think this is because I'm spending a lot more time with other people and am seeing the value in that.  I feel better more often when I'm with others.  I've also become more intuitive, as oppososed to sensitive, which I think is because I've done a lot more thinking about who I am and my growth, etc.  I just think a lot more in general.  I'm also more of a planner, if that was even possible, which makes sense because I am doing so much with my time that I definitely need to keep it straight.

Isn't this all interesting?  I definitely find it interesting.  When I took the test today, I didn't think anything would really change.  But look at that, I sure have.  Can't figure out if this is a good thing or not.

xoxo

ps.  Famous ISFJs and ESFJs.

ISFJ - St. Teresa de Avila, Robert E. Lee, President William Howard Taft, Kristi Yamaguchi, Ophelia in Hamlet, and Dr. John H. Watson, MD, Sherlock Holmes' sidekick

ESFJ - President Bill Clinton, Desi Arnaz ("Ricky Ricardo"), Terry Bradshaw, Mary Tyler Moore, Steve Spurrier, Sally Field, Monica from Friends, Molly Weasley from Harry Potter, and Donald Duck

TAKE STEPS.

I'm so excited my mom stumbled on this!

Next weekend, I'll be heading up TEAM KELLI in a fundraising walk for CCFA, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America! 

If you're interested in making a donation to my personal goal of raising $50, reading my story, or joining my team to raise money to our team goal of $200 and walking with us next Sunday, please visit http://bit.ly/geauxteamkelli.  If you'd like to donate to our team goal, visit http://bit.ly/takestepsteamkelli.  If you can't make a donation, don't worry, I completely understand!  I'm a penny-pincher, myself.  In that case, if you feel comfortable, please pray for our team and for the research of Crohn's and colitis!

xoxo

today's thoughts.

Hello.

Today I have a lot of thoughts, which is rather unfortunate because I have a lot to do.  I started my new position at the UREC this morning, now I'm at Princeton Review for 4.5 hours, and then another shift at the UREC from 5-8.  I'm very much looking forward to this crazylong day being over.

I have been a mess the past few days.  I've not been able to breathe very well (thanks pollen!), which ended up with me having a sore throat; I have been completely exhausted, and I have been sad because Monday made a three-month mark of being single.  :(

I feel like I've picked open a scab over a wound.  I was thinking I was getting so much better, but now I picked at it, and all of a sudden, I feel so much worse.  People are suggesting to me that I reach some kind of closure, and to only do things that bring me joy, giving things that bring angst the axe.  All of this makes complete sense, but they come with something that's big and scary and that I don't really want to do - like talking to someone.  Or "breaking up" with the first place I felt like was a home for me when I was a freshman so so long ago.  These things scare me, and I don't really know what to do about them, but on the other hand, I feel myself being super tense and short with my family and friends and pulling away from them, too.  I've been feeling lonely, so by not sharing this with people, I have ended up sealing myself in on the loneliness.  Which is awful.

A sweet long-distance friend texted me for the first time yesterday to check in on me, and when I told him I didn't want to go back to our Christian community (my first home-away-from-home, where he and I met) and where my ex lives and works, he said he thought I needed to give myself a year to grieve.  A whole year!  I can't imagine that.  I really hope I'm much, much better by July 10, 2012.  I want to be.

So I can't get better by sitting still and expecting everything around me to change for me.  I will make a sure effort to shake the lonely feeling.  I will do things that I love, and only for the reason that I love them.  I will talk to my mom and sister and girlfriends to gain advice and reassurance.  I will pray and read and worship my God for bringing me out of something so awful and heart-wrenching, and for never letting go of me while I heal.  I will be disciplined and good at time management so that I get things done and make good grades.  I will write letters for me to keep every day to express my feelings and let them go.  I will write a letter that will be delivered, or I will be brave and strong and ask for a conversation.  Somehow, I will do this.  I'm a strong-ass woman.

I cannot stay in this funk forever.  And I cannot fool myself into thinking I've left the funk when really I'm just skating on thin ice, the funk creeping about below me, less than an inch away from tackling me and taking me down with it.  I will leave it.  I will be better.  And for the first time in years, I will find what it means to be truly happy.  I have missed that feeling; for so long of fooling myself into believing I was, I actually will become it.

Other things that are making me happy today:
- a visit from my best friend in just over 24 hours
- hanging out with her and all of my family this weekend
- my new job is a good one, and I will be very good at it
- hopefully less than one more week where I will be working a kazillion hours
- I opened my acceptance letter to LSU five years ago today
- my roommate is wonderful
- I love my contemporary christian station on pandora

xoxo

psalm 139

1 Lord, you have examined me and know all about me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them.
3 You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do.
4 Lord, even before I say a word, you already know it.
5 You are all around me—in front and in back— and have put your hand on me.
6 Your knowledge is amazing to me; it is more than I can understand.
7 Where can I go to get away from your Spirit? Where can I run from you?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there. If I lie down in the grave, you are there.
9 If I rise with the sun in the east and settle in the west beyond the sea, 10 even there you would guide me. With your right hand you would hold me.
11 I could say, “The darkness will hide me. Let the light around me turn into night.”
12 But even the darkness is not dark to you. The night is as light as the day; darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body.
14 I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well.
15 You saw my bones being formed as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there, 16 you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old.

17 God, your thoughts are precious to me. They are so many!
18 If I could count them, they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
19 God, I wish you would kill the wicked! Get away from me, you murderers!
20 They say evil things about you. Your enemies use your name thoughtlessly.
21 Lord, I hate those who hate you; I hate those who rise up against you.
22 I feel only hate for them; they are my enemies.
23 God, examine me and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any bad thing in me. Lead me on the road to everlasting life.

the weekend.

Today I have an evaluation with the Princeton Review for my first 6 weeks of work that will [hopefully] result in a pay raise, then the remainder of a brief, 3.5-hour shift, then I meet up with my parents and maybe my roommate for dinner, then the four of us will attend Tigerama, only the best concert, ever, then my roommate and I will head east to Pensacola for a weekend at the beach.

While at the beach I will hang out with a lot of my friends from the Wesley Foundation, I hope I will not get sunburned, stung by a jellyfish, or pinched by a crab, I will be having Panera Bread at least once and/or Jim n Nick's and Steak n Shake, and I will visit a Publix, for Christ's sake.


beach!!!!!!!!!!!!


xoxo

picturesque

Some things I wanted to share.

Oak trees and Spanish Moss by Lake Pontchartrain in Mandeville.

A pretty view of the LSU lakes.

Sea turtle, whale, and seals; some of the National Geographic pictures of the year.

Me and my Ellie Sue.

hopeful today.

xoxo



glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate, and other such nonsense

Did you know glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate is a thing?

I didn't, until I had to write it about seven times in my studying notes for microbiology just now.

I didn't really think this class would be all that hard... after all, it is only 1000-level.  Surprise! 

I'm about to head to my phi lamb-tastic Monday evening.  I'm really glad about that.

I have to take an online quiz for statistics by tomorrow at midnight... I'm not so glad about that.

My mom and Krysten are super supportive of me and my relationship with the Lord.  When I get wigged out, they help calm me down.   When I'm stressing really hard, Krysten asks what she can do.  When I'm totally daunted by something I've probably fabricated in my own mind, my mom helps set me straight and tells me I'm doing well.

However, my God, as blessed as I am by these women and so many other individuals in my life, it's what's between You and me that matters.  I know You are calling me to something challenging, whether or not I know specifics at this particular time.  I know You are walking right beside me and holding me and helping my heaviness feel not so heavy.  Please don't stop.  Please speak to me.  Please, in Your timing, show me the beauty of the struggles I face today.  Please, in Your time, send me that boy created to walk with me for the rest of my life.  And in the meantime, help me be purified in You, dote on me, show me You love me more than anyone ever will.  And I will always run to You.
In Your most High Name, amen.

xoxo

ps. glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate (G3P) is one of the two things a six-carbon glucose is broken into via an oxidation reaction towards the beginning of the glycolysis process.  You're welcome.

running music

When I went for my "runs" the last two sessions, I've listened to this playlist, in pieces.  I love it so far.

1. "Dog Days Are Over" - Florence + The Machine
2. "Dog Problems" - The Format
3. "Do You Wanna Touch Me" - Glee Cast
4. "Touch a Touch a Touch a Touch Me" - Rocky Horror Glee Show
5. "I and Love and You" - The Avett Brothers
6. "Die Die Die" - The Avett Brothers
7. "You Lie" - The Band Perry
8. "Halo" - Beyonce
9. "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" - Beyonce
10. "Dusk And Summer" - Dashboard Confessional
11. "Don't Carry It All" - The Decemberists
12. "All Arise!" - The Decemberists
13. "Crocodile Rock - LIVE" - Elton John
14. "Oh, It Is Love" - Hellogoodbye
15. "Only Wanna Be With You" - Hootie & The Blowfish
16. "I Go Blind" - Hootie & The Blowfish
17. "Baby" - Justin Bieber
18. "Stronger" - Kanye West
19. "California Girls" - Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg
20. "Bulletproof" - La Roux
21. "Roll Away Your Stone" - Mumford & Sons
22. "Sigh No More" - Mumford & Sons
23. "In The Aeroplane Over The Sea" - Neutral Milk Hotel
24. "On the Radio" - Regina Spektor
25. "We Shine" - Steve Fee
26. "Chicago" - Sufjan Stevens
27. "Orbiting" - The Weepies
28. "What Is This Feeling?" - Wicked Cast
29. "Don't Trust Me" - 3OH!3

I want to add more.  I think it needs more Katy Perry, Decemberists, Bieber and Mumford & Sons, and the addition of some Nycki Minaj, Taylor Swift, needtobreathe, and other Christian artists. 

In other news, I'm thinking about a big "project" I think God is calling me to.  I'm not sure yet.  I'm praying some more.  But the idea of it is overwhelming, to say the least.

xoxo