The art of pie...

I am a busy person. I always have been, and I think I always will be. I have a very large capacity for "stuff' in my life, and I handle stress very well. However, every once in a while, I feel the need for relaxation and rejuvenation. This entire week I have felt the need for a "me" day, and today I finally was able to have one.
I love to bake, but I never have time to, so for my "me" day I decided to bake 3 pies and choose three of my friends to give them to. So, I woke up around 11 this morning, went for a run, ate lunch and then preceded to make my very yummy pumpkin chiffon pies. I was excited to make this particular type of pie because of the memories surrounding it. I used to make this type of pie with my Nana every year at thanksgiving, but since moving away to college, I haven't made it in awhile. I smiled to myself through each step of the pie process, remembering the time spent with my Nana on Thanksgivings past...
The pies turned out great! And I think I will make more next Saturday!

There is something about baking that just makes me feel so creative. I kinda get in this zone, and feel a sense of humble invincibility. The art of pie is that I can make it however I want to, and I know that it will be thoroughly enjoyed by anyone who partakes of it. What a great day I have had!

Another Story...

Once upon a time, there was a daughter of a king who lived in a peculiar kingdom. Her father, the king, allowed the princess the task of rallying up his support amongst the inhabitants of the kingdom. Every Saturday, the princess would leave her comfortable home that was filled with her many books, and her stables filled with her beautiful horses, and venture forth into the peculiar kingdom to spread the news about her father’s awesome power, stories of his bravery, and tales of his benevolence, mercy and love. The princess knew she didn’t have to go out and tell the kingdom of her fathers attributes, after all, sooner or later everyone would experience him in their own way and on their own time, but the princess loved her father so much that she was excited to boast about him on the streets. The princess experienced rejection and heartache from those who didn’t like the king, but nothing could stop her from sharing her stories. One day, as she was sharing with a group of skeptics, a young boy asked her why she endured rejection just to talk about her father. The princess told him that the devotion she felt to the king demanded her allegiance, her pride, and perhaps her life. She told the boy that talking about the king wasn’t a chore. In fact it was a delight, because she found joy in remembering and sharing the stories. The boy was impressed. He had seen the princess come and talk to the people of the kingdom for months. She didn’t seem to discriminate against anyone, the princess talked to everyone. And at the end of her stories she would always offer services to help those in need paid for entirely by the king. More people rejected her offer than accepted it, thinking it was a trick or a ploy designed to lull them into a false sense of security. More curious than anything, the boy asked the princess for a job in the palace. He wanted to see this king in action for himself. The princess took him to the palace and showed him what his duties were. For the next few months the boy did his work and observed the people around him. Everyone was so happy to be working for the king; the boy didn’t understand why everyone was so joyful, to him it was all just hard labor. One day the boy got fed up with all the ridiculous happiness around him. He dropped the shovel he had been digging with and went in search of the princess, so he could tell her in person that he quit. Working with all these nice, joyful, humble people, made him insecure about himself, and he noticed more and more all his shortcomings. He had worked himself into such a tizzy that he didn’t realize the king was standing not 100 feet away from him, and as he stomped up the gravel walkway he ran right into the king. The king was no small man. He stood regally tall, with broad shoulders and a commanding presence. Just by looking at him, you could tell that he was capable of wielding great power; and yet, there was a control about him that stopped the boy from running in terror. There was a deep compassion in his eyes that connected to the boy’s heart. The boy stammered out an apology for running into him, and mumbled something about how stupid he felt, and how he knew he deserved to be punished by the king. Amazingly, the king didn’t even look angry; instead he replied “I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”(Ex. 33:19) “I have watched you working, I know what you seek.” The boy looked up in surprise, “you do?” the boy asked. The King looked at the boy and reached out his hand “do you trust in me”, the King asked “for I have fought many battles on your behalf, and you will fight them with me if you take my hand and trust in me.” The boy knew at that moment that he was making a choice between life and death. He felt total freedom to refuse the King, but at the same time, he knew he didn’t want to live without him.

Dear Friends, we have the duty and the privilege to serve the King, and we also have the choice to refuse Him; but do we really want to? So many times we miss opportunities, or choose to ignore the ministry God places us in; just remember that even though we have the freedom to refuse the King, we don’t really want to. As sons and daughters of the most high King, we have the honor of sharing in a very real and dangerous battle fought, and won by Christ; you and I are just beginning on our quest to share his story with a very peculiar Kingdom, one who doesn’t really want to hear it. My prayer for you is that you always find joy in remembering and thinking of the King, and that your joy will spill over into the lives of others.

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8

“For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.”

Romans 8:29-30

Teaser for the novel I am writing...

Strings Drawn Tight

Time slowly passes by, and the things that used to be the most important start to fade with it. I can live my life the way I want to now…no distractions of guilt or even annoying desire. I wanted to get away from it all, away from him; I even packed away my guitar, and it currently sits untouched in the garage. Getting away from him wasn’t easy at first. It’s like there was this invisible bond stretched between us. The further I walked, the tighter the bond became…it was painful. The nightmares were the worst. In my dream I’m walking through a calm valley and I notice that this little girl is following behind me. She’s just this very cute, little sprite of a thing with blond pig tails and a little pink dress. She is humming softly to herself. I turn around and ask her why she is following me. She stops humming and opens her mouth to speak, but I hear nothing. I know she is talking to me because I can see her mouth moving, but I don’t hear anything. Its frustrating, so I turn around and move on. After a while I turn around to see that she has stopped following me and is now talking to a man. They both turn to look at me and smile. I can see their mouths moving, so I know they are talking to me, but again, I can’t hear. Then, I would wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, with the strange sensation that I had heard someone calling my name. It was weird. I know that he gave me those dreams…that he wants me to come back, but I just can’t do it. Every night I would have the same dream, and every night I would ignore it and will myself to go back to sleep. And it is like I said, eventually the dream fades, and my sleep becomes like the rest of my life: dreamless, and colored in shades of gray.

Where am I ?

Hello all!
Can I just say, when I was looking at colleges I never thought I would end up where I ended up. Northwest University is one of the greatest blessings of my life. I have so totally planted myself here in Kirkland Washington. When I first moved here (kirkland WA), I was so afraid of everything. I didn't know anyone, I didn't have a car, a job... but, God spoke to me and gave me confidence that I never would have experienced if I hadn't been placed in a situation where I was totally and completely alone. I learned things about myself, and about the world around me that I consider invaluable. I started out as a music education major, and quickly found out that as much as I love music, it is my hobby. Now, I am about to turn 21, I am a psychology major at Northwest University and feel confident in where God has placed me. I live in Washington full time, with my roommate and best friend Nicole. I work at Northwest University in Enrollment, and I am on staff as the youth director at my church. I feel so blessed to be where I am. I love it!

Some friends and I in Venice Italy. Summer 2008

Me and Daddy from this past summer

Me and the roommate! :) Aren't we cute!