72 days. here we go.

by the time you are reading this

i have retreated into the land of jobs and birthdays...weddings, graduate school applications, and books to help me "Master The LSAT!" (...the exclamation point does nothing to relieve my fear)

i will retake my place as a functioning member of society in october

(we're celebrating: october 9th, 5 pm, Rose Donuts...want to join??)

i have hopes to come up for air and blogs and birthday cake when the need arises (now, for example)

but if i seem emotionally absent, distant, or a bit frazzled, please forgive me

in the meantime, wish me luck

and pray for my brain

(and my sleep schedule)

and i'm sorry if i'm cranky

via

[this could be me for the next 72 days...

...with the very important exceptions of:

birthdays and weddings all over the place

where i will be all smiles and laughter and joy :)]

summer reading, part two

we are more than half way into summer

class and lsat studying and work have snuck up on me

which, sadly, means less time for books

regardless, here's some more to add to the list...

{completed/suggested summer reading}

9. Zeitoun//Dave Eggers

10. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (again)//JK Rowling

11. Catcher in the Rye//JD Salinger

12. The Covenanted Self//Walter Brueggemann

{books in waiting...}

(all recommended...add your recommendations to the collection!)

1. Shantaram//

2. The Pact//Jodi Picoult

3. I Am An Emotional Creature//Eve Ensler

4. East of Eden//John Steinbeck

5-7. HP5-7 (recommended by me...)

to be continued... :)

"No, life cannot be understood flat on a page. It has to be lived; a person has to get out of his head, has to fall in love, has to memorize poems, has to jump off bridges into rivers, has to stand in an empty desert and whisper sonnets under his breath... We get one story, you and I, and one story alone. God has established the elements, the setting and the climax and resolution. It would be a crime not to venture out, wouldn't it?"

--Donald Miller//Through Painted Deserts

branches

i am blessed to be surrounded constantly by incredibly talented musicians

i'd need an infinite amount of fingers to count the sing-a-longs and nights spent listening with closed eyes and open hearts and the way that their music has changed things

so, in honor of music and all these friends (and one friend in particular)

do yourself a favor and check out branches

it's a group of best friends (and lots of hair)

and we, at the not-so-blue-door, have been listening to their songs on repeat

(specifically maps of wars because it's seriously seriously seriously good...)

you can too:

http://www.myspace.com/soundslikebranches

and, in the words of tyler (vocals and guitar and longer hair than me):

"add us as a friend, spread the word, sing along, and if you'll be in LA the first week of September, buy a ticket for our show with Tyrone Wells here"

i'm so glad that things exist that are

mysterious beyond explanation

and beautiful beyond description

sunrise at the grand canyon

(even the rocks cry out)

i'm so glad that i have friends who

laugh a lot

drive a lot

explore a lot

photograph a lot

crave adventure a lot

but don't sleep a lot

roomies hiking in sedona

thank you: mommy, ed, kenny, tay, and julien

this weekend could not have been any more amazing

:)

"It does not come easy to us to imagine that you

closed the womb of mother Hannah

and thereby foreclosed the future for a time.

And yet, we can name in your presence

a myriad of shut-down places around us...

those shut down in poverty and despair,

those shut down in fear and in rage,

those shut down by abuse and violence,

too hurt to speak,

too frightened to appear,

t00 scarred to dance.

And closer, our own shut downs:

in anxiety, in resentment, in pretense,

too weary to care,

too greedy to share,

too much of us for neighbor.

These are not all your doing, we confess.

But you are the God who opens all shut downs:

by your power, you give futures,

by your goodness, you give hope,

by your mercy, you make new.

So we bid you this day come to our shut down places and give birth anew.

We pray through the Easter opening of the Friday shut downs.

Amen."

Walter Brueggemann//Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth

jungle drum

just discovered this song and i'm obsessed

so happy and fun and full of love!

(and what is this jungle dancing theme i've got going on??)

enjoy :)

and happy friday!

day 7: imagine a moment in five (ish) years

blog challenge, day seven and done

"imagine a moment in five (ish) years"

it's the summer of 2015 and there are boxes everywhere. the occasional birthday balloon makes its way down the hallway, left-overs from an epic birthday dinner (twenty seven. holy cow).

{moving day}

{previously mentioned epic birthday party}

i'm moving. getting married then moving. the wedding is in two weeks. we move right after the honeymoon. there are people everywhere helping us pack. my family has been over since morning, organizing closets and disassembling furniture and packing kitchen utensils. my scruffy faced, faintly accented fiance and his entire family are on their way. they're bringing mexican food (veggie tostada??) because it's the first thing i miss when i leave america.

oh, by the way, i'm leaving america. i (FINALLY!!) graduated and mr. scruff and i have been interviewing with international organizations, putting our graduate degrees to good work. i have to leave the cute little house i've dreamed about since 1998 but my passport has been waiting since 2005...

{brick wall, book shelves, cozy couch...yes please}

today, though, is moving day. the house is loud and and hot and full. mr scruff and i are stealing kisses and thanking God for past, present and future and for the ways that families can join and love and create heavenly space. after the sun has gone down, the only thing left in the house is the kitchen table, set with summer linens. we're squeezing in for one last family dinner.

("family" is stretched to include neighbors, friends, friends of friends, teachers, pastor, coworkers, my refugee family, anyone with an empty stomach)

{via}

we're breaking bread (vegan sloppy joes) and showing our love and we're happy :)

*now i will try my hardest not to get attached to this dream story i just came up with. yikes.