What's Coming to Mind.
June 2012
12 posts
“But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. My mouth will tell of your righteousness, of your salvation all day long, though I know not its measure. — Psalm 71: 14-15”
—If I’m being honest here, it’s really hard for me to remember to praise God more and more. It’s really hard for me to humble myself to focus on God and all that He has done. It’s really hard for me to look to God before I look to myself to do things. It’s really hard to rely on God for my strength, rather than myself. The last line of verse 15 stands out to me: “though I know not its measure.” Wow. Humility check. As easy as it is for me to give myself credit, I am often reminded of how much I truly need God - from the simplest of tasks to the most heavy and weighing issues on my heart. And as hard as it is for me to look to Him, I am grateful that God meets me in whatever place I am in. I am glad that I will never truly know the measure of Him and all of His wonder. I am glad that His will always be infinitely better than my own. I am glad that His love, His power, His grace, and His knowledge can never be fully measured, and that His beauty is beyond human comprehension. And while my arrogance often outweighs my humility, I am thankful that God speaks to me through verses such as this to give me a glimpse into all that He is.
Reason #329 Why I Like Summer
I can read any book that I choose, with pure enjoyment.
I don’t have to think, “I should really be studying right now, instead of reading this book.”
I have time to slip into the worlds that I have been avoiding (not so successfully) during the school year.
I like summer for this reason.
The Age of Worry
John Mayer
Alive in the age of worry
Smile in the age of worry
Go wild in the age of worry
And sing, “Worry, why should I care?”
A New Blessing
It feels pretty great to say that I am now a WSM Junior High leader.
I am excited to serve in a completely different way.
I am excited to see what God will do through this.
I am excited to see how my faith will grow.
I hope that I can be half as good of a leader as the ones that I was blessed with in high school.
I hope that I can play even a tiny role in helping someone else’s journey with God.
I hope that I can connect with junior highers and other leaders.
Most of all, I hope that I can point others to Him through my words and actions.
Feeling pretty blessed, excited, and thankful, today. :)
Born and Raised
You know that feeling that you got as a little kid when you just got so excited that you couldn’t do anything but just do a little dance and squeal? That feeling that NOTHING could be as cool as what you are excited about? That feeling where all you could talk about and focus on was whatever made you so excited?
Ladies and gentlemen, I am a little kid listening to Born and Raised. Just listened for the first time this afternoon. It hasn’t stopped repeating. I really have no words…I’m speechless.
This is a fantastic album. Well done, John.
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
—John Wooden
Seattle
A little late on this blog. It’s gonna be a long one, so I would suggest getting a drink and maybe a snack. You’re gonna be here for a while, if you decide to read all about my first summer adventure.
A few weeks ago, I went to Seattle to see how my friend, Barrett, lives life up at his school, Seattle Pacific University. In the week and a half that I was there, I got to be an honorary Moyerite (his dorm) and learn a few hidden hipster secrets. There was a lot of coffee drinking, exploring, and laughing with all of the new people I met. And not to mention, a lot of eating. It’s a good thing that calories don’t exist on vacation.
I totally fell in love with Seattle. With how green everything is. With the rain that always ends with a gorgeous sun that peeks through the cloudy skies. With the people who are all so friendly and sweet. With the abundance of coffee shops, cafes, and bookstores. With the skyline of downtown. It truly is a beautiful city.
If you are ever going on a trip there, let me know. I will tell you all of my favorite places. And even if you’re not going, I’ll tell some here anyway. :)
Right by the school is a neighborhood of Seattle called Fremont. It’s very Santa Monica 3rd street promenade-esque, except with way more local business shops. It takes about 15 or 20 minutes to walk there. Have I mentioned that you can walk along a gorgeous canal bank that is under the Fremont Bridge in order to get there? I found myself walking along that canal bank many times during my trip.
The bridge itself is beautiful. A few times a day, the bridge goes up, to let incoming boats pass. I saw this twice one day, which is supposedly good luck. :)
Another one of my favorite places was Gas Works Park. It’s about a 30-40 minute walk from SPU, but with the amount of stopping that I did to take pictures of everything, it took us about an hour. I was thankful that they were all nice enough to indulge me in doing so. Here’s a few of my favorites from our walk to GW and the view that the park overlooks.
As you probably already know, I am most happy when I am by the ocean. I love the beach anytime, anywhere, any season. We hung out and had a bonfire at Golden Gardens, in Washington, and it was a beautiful beach. Even though our fire had some technical difficulties (no thanks to me - I have no idea how to build a fire. I just took pictures), it was still a great time with great people. Side note: I may or may not have eaten five s’mores.
I visited a few of Seattle’s many public markets. The Fremont Sunday Market was a fun, relaxing way to spend my Sunday afternoon lunch. Super small, but full of delicious food and interesting antiques. I liked it. Pike Public Market was another one that I hung out at. This one is more well known and had the coolest shops and art work. It also has the first ever Starbucks and a gum-filled alley. I didn’t go inside Starbucks, because the line was out the door (shocker there), but I did stop for a few minutes to listen to a few local street entertainers. I ended up buying some homemade doughnuts for myself, Barrett, and his roommate, and a Himalayan handmade journal. I was pretty excited about it.
Are you still reading? Cool. Out of all of the places that I ate at (believe me, there were a TON), I have two Seattle favorites. The first is a 24 hour restaurant called Beth’s. I don’t know how it is during the day, but when I went at 2 AM, the service was terrible, the wait for a table took forever, and it was almost too loud to hear what the person you were sitting next to was saying. Sold yet? I wasn’t either at first. However, it is a pretty good place. The food is DELICIOUS and cheap. I ordered the french toast. Mmm. The walls are covered in pages that have been colored by customers. I spent probably 20 minutes just looking at all of the different drawings that people came up with. Kind of a cool way to remember your visit. The place is eccentric, chaotic, and all around awesome. It’s a must have. I promise you will leave with a smile on your face. Here’s what my menu looked like.
My other favorite place to eat in Seattle is Molly Moon’s Homemade Icecream. My mouth is watering as I type this. I can’t emphasize enough how delicious it is! My favorite flavors (which, by the way, are all extremely hipster) are Earl Grey and Stumptown Coffee. Double scoop waffle cone it when you go there. Because you HAVE to go there.
My trip to Seattle was the perfect way to start off my summer. I am thankful to have experienced such beautiful things. Until next time, Seattle.
