Tara is here and engaged. When I got to the airport I saw her now fiance all dressed up with red roses and thought, "Did I miss the memo?" Congratulations you two!
Megan is here and the party is on. And I mean ON. No doubt. Who needs Vegas?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
Woo Hoo!
I got a grown up bed yesterday! I slept in it for the first time last night. Hooray for our apartment looking more like a home.
Up close on the linens.
And again.
Big girl bed!
Up close on the linens.And again.Big girl bed!
Friday, November 10, 2006
Buddy Holly
Up for vote:
Do I change my cell phone ring to Weezer's Buddy Holly?
Comments are welcome and requested.
I Workout religiously
So, I was talking to one of my coworkers on the phone the other night. We were going to meet for dinner with another one of our coworkers at a Mexican restaurant. It was about 4 and we were meeting at 8. My thought was, I should work out so that I don't feel so guilty about what I am going to drink tonight. So I told my coworker that I needed to go so that I could work out. Here was the conversation:
Coworker: You work out?
Holly: Yes.
Coworker: Religiously?
Holly: No.
But you know what. I have been thinking about this since that conversation and really, I should have said yes. In many ways the way I work out is quite similar to the way I follow Jesus.
-As hard as I try, I can never be consistent.
-Sometimes I am super excited.
-It can be difficult.
-I know that it is good for me.
-There are times when I rebel.
-I get frustrated when I feel like I am not seeing results.
*Some days I have to kick myself hard and drag myself there, but afterwards, I am always glad I did.
So there you have it friends: I workout religiously.
Coworker: You work out?
Holly: Yes.
Coworker: Religiously?
Holly: No.
But you know what. I have been thinking about this since that conversation and really, I should have said yes. In many ways the way I work out is quite similar to the way I follow Jesus.
-As hard as I try, I can never be consistent.
-Sometimes I am super excited.
-It can be difficult.
-I know that it is good for me.
-There are times when I rebel.
-I get frustrated when I feel like I am not seeing results.
*Some days I have to kick myself hard and drag myself there, but afterwards, I am always glad I did.
So there you have it friends: I workout religiously.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Late Night Thoughts
I have just started reading the book "Blue Like Jazz." I know, I am way behind on the cool Christian reading list. I just completed the second chapter that talks about he problem of always thinking of ourselves and seeking to please ourselves rather than seek our pleasure in God. I think this is something that I have been struggling with a lot lately. I think, perhaps, I am supposed to be learning something here. I have been reading a Bible in one year plan and here are some of the verses that have stuck with me recently:
Proverbs 23:17
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for fear of the Lord.
Jeremiah 7:9-10
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"- safe to do all these detestable things.
Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Jeremiah 9:20
Now, O women, hear the word of the Lord:
open your ears to the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to wail;
teach one another a lament.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the Lord says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this;
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the Lord.
It is so easy for me to think of myself first, to go after what I want and, frankly, to have no fear of the Lord. I want to be liked by my coworkers, I want to feel attractive and desired. I want to get attention from people and feel like I matter. I don't know that all of these things are bad, but at what point am I seeking these things and not the Lord. At what point am I sinning? I desire to know the Lord and to put my trust in him and to fear the Lord more than I desire the things of the world. But, man, sometimes it is so stinking hard.
Lord, I pray that these verses will stick with me. That I will continue to think of them and meditate on them so that by your grace and through your power I can know you and fear you more. I pray that I would truly confess, renounce and lament my sins and that they would become detestable to me. Lord, I pray that I would in my heart desire you more than the things of the world. Amen.
Proverbs 23:17
Do not let your heart envy sinners,
but always be zealous for fear of the Lord.
Jeremiah 7:9-10
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"- safe to do all these detestable things.
Proverbs 28:13
He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Jeremiah 9:20
Now, O women, hear the word of the Lord:
open your ears to the words of his mouth.
Teach your daughters how to wail;
teach one another a lament.
Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the Lord says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this;
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the Lord.
It is so easy for me to think of myself first, to go after what I want and, frankly, to have no fear of the Lord. I want to be liked by my coworkers, I want to feel attractive and desired. I want to get attention from people and feel like I matter. I don't know that all of these things are bad, but at what point am I seeking these things and not the Lord. At what point am I sinning? I desire to know the Lord and to put my trust in him and to fear the Lord more than I desire the things of the world. But, man, sometimes it is so stinking hard.
Lord, I pray that these verses will stick with me. That I will continue to think of them and meditate on them so that by your grace and through your power I can know you and fear you more. I pray that I would truly confess, renounce and lament my sins and that they would become detestable to me. Lord, I pray that I would in my heart desire you more than the things of the world. Amen.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Squaw Peak Summit Trail
Today Rachel and I took our first Arizona hike. This is appropriate because hiking season is November through April in Phoenix.
I bought a book called "Best Easy Day Hikes: Phoenix" about a month ago. There are 25 hikes total and our goal is to hike all of them. I think that the one that we did today was one of the harder ones. Actually, I just looked at a list that ranks the hikes and the book ranks this one as the hardest one. The consensus of people that we met on the hike today was that this one is actually not quite as physically demanding as the one that it rated just below it.
Information about Squaw Peak Summit Trail from the book:
Total Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1190 feet
"Squaw Peak, dominating Phoenix's northern skyline, is the centerpiece of the city's Phoenix Mountains Preserve....This steep trail, now trod by over 500,000 hikers annually, attracts more hikers than any other Phoenix trail and is second in Arizona only to the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail in popularity....Other than some young, cigar-shaped saguaros and fishook barrel cacti, few plans survive on these heat-blasted slopes, where surface temperatures can exceed 150 degrees F in summer....All of Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun unfolds below this lofty sky platform with its stunning 360-degree view."
All in all it was a fun trek. We enjoyed getting to the top and very much enjoyed coming back down. The people on the trail were quite friendly and we were able to have a couple of fun conversations. There was even an incident when I thought this guy had headphones on, and I was telling Rachel an embarrassing story of me falling down a rocky patch in Africa and scraping my bum because I was wearing a skirt. He WAS wearing headphones, but when I was telling that story he had taken them off. Go figure.
I bought a book called "Best Easy Day Hikes: Phoenix" about a month ago. There are 25 hikes total and our goal is to hike all of them. I think that the one that we did today was one of the harder ones. Actually, I just looked at a list that ranks the hikes and the book ranks this one as the hardest one. The consensus of people that we met on the hike today was that this one is actually not quite as physically demanding as the one that it rated just below it.
Information about Squaw Peak Summit Trail from the book:
Total Distance: 2.4 miles
Elevation Gain: 1190 feet
"Squaw Peak, dominating Phoenix's northern skyline, is the centerpiece of the city's Phoenix Mountains Preserve....This steep trail, now trod by over 500,000 hikers annually, attracts more hikers than any other Phoenix trail and is second in Arizona only to the Grand Canyon's Bright Angel Trail in popularity....Other than some young, cigar-shaped saguaros and fishook barrel cacti, few plans survive on these heat-blasted slopes, where surface temperatures can exceed 150 degrees F in summer....All of Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun unfolds below this lofty sky platform with its stunning 360-degree view."
All in all it was a fun trek. We enjoyed getting to the top and very much enjoyed coming back down. The people on the trail were quite friendly and we were able to have a couple of fun conversations. There was even an incident when I thought this guy had headphones on, and I was telling Rachel an embarrassing story of me falling down a rocky patch in Africa and scraping my bum because I was wearing a skirt. He WAS wearing headphones, but when I was telling that story he had taken them off. Go figure.
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