Most ridiculous drink order I saw yesterday: (this was the Starbucks code on the side of the cup)
DECAF
4.5 P V
NON
NF
XW
PSL
WR

Which, if you're wondering, is a grande decaf, 4 and a half pump vanilla nonfat no foam, extra whip pumkin spice latte, with room for condiments.
Dallas let me call out the order but when I put it out on the bar it took two of them to coach me through it because it was so complicated. Not sure if I remember it all the way (I'm surprised the customer even knows this stuff. Holy crap) but if it wasn't this it was something equally crazy.

I got to make a Frappucino yesterday. It was fun. And easy. So far that is the only thing I really know how to do, because I don't even know how to make regular coffee. I think they let me do it because it's almost impossible to screw it up. The only thing you can do wrong is not put the lid on tightly enough, and make a mess. (Which I did, once.)

some funny little blessings

So Jeremy got me a job working at the Starbucks branch he manages. It is perfect since it's within walking distance of our house and it will be something I can continue after I go back to school. It's only part time though, and I wanted full time, so I was praying for some other money making opportunities, and hoping for something more within my skill set (like a design job).
Now here is a cool thing that happened today at church. Justin mentioned the VisGrace video I made, and Brad said to me, "Oh Ciara, I didn't know you did videos!" I looked at him like, duh Brad. I'm in film school. Apparently he didn't know this. So we talked for a while and he said he wanted help doing videos for Luis Palau. I said, sorry, I can't volunteer my time unless I'm going to get paid for my work. He said, of course we will pay you. Probably around $500-$800. He asked for some samples of my work, and I said I would get him some, so he could show the board and they could decide whether or not they want to hire me. Then he mentioned he needs videos for something he's doing next Saturday. I offered to do the video for Saturday for free, and he can hire me based on the quality of work I do for that.
Then he said that if I do a good job and it works out for me at the Palau association, he has tons of evangelist friends that are looking for cheap video editing services. Since I have free access to amazing equipment through school, and I'm working on my own, this is basically straight profit for me, and he could get my name out to his friends.
Why this is cool, is because starting something like that and building up a client base right now puts me well on my way to being able to start my own business if I wanted to. Stuff like this spreads by word of mouth through networking with people. And it would be a pretty cool opportunity, especially doing something that I am actually trained to do.
So hopefully I don't blow that opportunity.
Also, my first day at Starbucks is tomorrow. It's just paperwork and training and stuff. But... I'm excited!

Shameless advertising

Here is a video about Visible Grace. I uploaded it for everyone so you can link it and share it with whoever you want. I think you should do it 1) because it's easy and 2) because Ashby works hard and deserves as much support as we can possibly offer...


Woody, I miss you! Thank you for reading my blog. How are things in Colorado?

pneumonia? how sweet!

Let's take a moment to discuss individual responsibility for contagious illnesses:

Last night, after school, I drove out to BCC to pick up my sister from youth group. I had been in class for three hours and I was pretty tired and wanted to get home, so when she asked if I could give her boyfriend a ride home I was already a little annoyed (never mind the fact that he didn't know how to get to his own house). I asked her why he didn't have his own ride home and she said, "Please just give him a ride! He's sick and he doesn't have a jacket."
So of course I said yes. Well, this guy gets in the car and I said something along the lines of, "So, Daniel, you're not feeling well?"
He responds with, "Yeah, I've got pneumonia."
(First thought entering my mind: OH DEAR GOD! ROLL DOWN THE WINDOWS AND THROW HIM OUT OF THE CAR!) (Second thought entering my mind: Why is a little boy with pneumonia out IN PUBLIC IN LATE OCTOBER WITHOUT A JACKET?)
So I very calmly rolled down my window, pulled my jacket around my mouth and nose and said, "Pneumonia, huh? So why are you out of the house?"
My sister then turned to him with these giant puppy eyes and in her sickly-sweetest flirtatious voice ever, said, "Isn't it so sweet? He still wanted to hang out with me."
(Thought going through my head: That isn't going to be so sweet when everyone in the car gets pneumonia.)
"Ummm, don't you think that's a little irresponsible to be out with such a contagious illness?"
He shrugged (he is not a very expressive young man), and told me he had already had pneumonia seven times before. I told him I had asthma and I have had pneumonia before and did not want it again. He said he had asthma too (again: WHY ARE YOU NOT WEARING A JACKET? WHY ARE YOU LEAVING YOUR HOUSE? WHY DO YOU NOT HAVE YOUR INHALOR STRAPPED TO YOUR FACE LIKE AN OXYGEN MASK???!).

My personal feeling is that people who are sick with dangerous illnesses should not leave their houses until they are through the contagious period of their illness. My sister was very mad at me later for voicing this opinion in front of Daniel, but I stand by it... plus she does not have asthma and has never had pneumonia, so she could not possibly know the full repercussions of his actions.

I really hope I don't get pneumonia this winter. Or the flu. I would die.

married...?!

To be quite honest I don't know if marriage is for me.
You know how in movies, girls get proposed to after knowing their boyfriend like 90 minutes? And when the guy pulls out the ring they're all, "Oh my god...(long emotional pause)... yes... YES!! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER ASK!!!" (after which they burst into tears and make out to the tune of the closing credits)?

I am not at all that girl. I am more likely the type of girl to go, "WHAT? YOU WANT TO GET WHAT? BUT DON'T YOU KNOW IF WE DO THAT WE WILL HAVE TO SEE EACH OTHER EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES?!"

I can't sleep

Uuuugggggghhh. It is so late/early and I am so bored and so, so tired... last night I took the Rameys home from Ethnos, which means I had to load all the SS stuff I brought into their van instead of into my car like I normally do. Well, it didn't work so well because my painting got kind of trashed. So... yeah, that's fun. :(

Speaking of things that are fun... you guys will enjoy this. Here are some exact quotes from the note Mer left me for taking care of the boys:
"...Noah seems to be suffering from 4th grade attitude. He needs gentle but stern reminders to be respectful. Please don't hesitate to put him in his room for a cooldown if necessary..."
"...Evan can get upset easily. If it looks like he's close to meltdown- WATCH OUT. The best thing for him is to have some alone time in a seperate room..."
"Jonah seems to have respect issues right now. He tries to get away with whining, screaming etc. and doesn't want to listen... he usually responds to time out (even if you physically have to carry him there)..."

That made me laugh... although so far they have been behaving perfectly. No time outs necessary. :)

P.S.

...oops.

a bunch of random thoughts

First of all, I talked to my best friend and he is coming home next weekend from Corvallis (YAY! I HAVEN'T SEEN HIM SINCE HE LEFT IN SEPTEMBER). So we are going to get to spend some time together. It's going to be a busy weekend, but I am really excited to see him since it's been so long. So, I will make time.

Next, I am really excited about what I am studying right now, and I have been thinking about asking Renata (my history professor) if I can do an independent study on the history of art and the church. I was just talking to the hermeneutics group last night about how I haven't written a paper in almost a year (writing used to be one of my passions, before I discovered all this other stuff). But this stuff I am studying actually motivates me to research these topics and even attempt to bring them up in normal conversation (this doesn't go over very well because most people find this stuff really boring).

Here is what this has made me think. The position that I am in right now at Ethnos is that I am serving on a team that comes up with ways to creatively respond to teaching. This is, essentially, a position leading worship, not unlike what Paul does with music. I think this type of creative response is intertwined with postmodernism and I think it will expand in the coming years to become a significant part of worship gatherings in the Christian Church.
Now, one thing Paul has always said to everyone is that a strong Biblical knowledge is essential for leading worship. I think that is so true, because in order to worship, it requires we understand (at least a little, obviously not completely) the God we are worshipping and why he deserves it.
Now, if you think of creative reponse as an aspect of worship, it only makes sense that any leader participating in creative response should also be well-educated for the same reasons the musical worship pastor would need to be.
I think it's possible that in some churches this could create a third pastoral position (not that there are always two, but I'm going with the model of what we are doing at Ethnos). So, if we didn't have the team, it would make sense to hire someone to fill this "creative response" leadership role.
The reason why I bring this up and why I've been thinknig about it is that I believe this is important and I also think it is something I could do, down the line. Obviously there is a team to fill this role at Ethnos, and that is the main way I serve there. But, honestly, there are a ton of things under the umbrella of creative response that could use more structured and detailed leadership. For example, one of the things we have really wanted to develop is an appreciation for fine arts and their meaning in worship (paintings, drawing, sculpture, etc). In my opinion this hasn't really taken off yet, because there haven't been a lot of artists interested in sharing their skills with the community. I am working on how to encourage people in that respect. There is also a film and photography team that hasn't happened because of much the same reason. Getting these things off the ground is supposed to be a piece of my role in the church. But sometimes this seems like a bigger job, one that could easily be a full-time worship position.
I guess what I am saying is, I see this as a new area for ministry and through Ethnos my eyes are being opened to it. It is something I have really developed a passion for. Through that I am slowly learning the complexity of how we worship and respond to God, and why that response needs to be based on Biblical truths and not human emotion.

I feel like none of this has made sense at all, and I can't really pick out the right words to describe what I think or how I feel (this is one of the downsides to being me... ugh). I am working on putting together some material on the value of art/creativity in worship that Paul and I are (hopefully) going to talk about when he gets back. That is my first step in involving more people in art and film in the church. But yeah... hopefully when I write that stuff down it comes out more articulately (?) than all of this has.

Why does it seem like things always make more sense in my head?

Dear Ethnos family,
I am linking your blogs and myspaces from my myspace to get people interested. If this bothers you let me know and I will take you off. Go look.

frustrated...

Ugh.
So I have been trying to help Brad get the Stations of the Cross together for his conference next week. And I am SO CLOSE, I just need one or two more things and I can pass it off to him compeletely. But the problem is, no one knows where these things are. I have asked every person I can think of, including (and not limited to): Justin, Paul, Mer, my mom, Ashby, and various other people involved in the initial planning. Paul, Ash and I waded through piles of crap perched precariously on top of one another in the storage room. Paul got so excited I thought he was going to fall off a stack of boxes and hurt himself. But, no luck. Still missing.
My only hope now is Todd, but I haven't been able to get a hold of him yet. And if I don't then I am stuck trying to figure out some way to recreate this stuff (which I might have to do anyway even if I do talk to him because, let's face it, with our luck, the files were probably all on Justin's crashed laptop).
Anyway. It is just frustrating. I hope I hear back from him soon so I can stop worrying about following through on this.

#1 Most Played

According to itunes, I have listened to the song "Everything Zen" over 40 times. It's not so great of a song that it deserves that much play time (especially considering that this doesn't include the times I listened to it on cd/in my car). The only other things that even come close are albums that I accidentally left on repeat overnight.

What is your #1 played song? Anyone?

this man is a HORRIBLE person

(not borat)

frog attack

Last night as I was walking out of my door, seven or eight frogs hopped right across my path (one even on my shoes). They were literally only inches from my front door, and I am convinced they wait there for someone to open the door so that they can hop inside. I know people don't believe this so I took a picture to prove it. Four or five of them hopped away, but three stayed right next to the door for later attacks. They are the ones in this picture.
This is part of the reason I hate fall: there are more frogs in fall than any other season. They are hopping around everywhere all the time. I hate it!
I promise you guys, this "frog infestation" I joke about is actually real!

what the... ?

Right now I am studying the use of symbolism in Early Rennaissance art in Northern Europe. This piece is Robert Campin's Merode Altarpiece and it is a depiction of the Annunciation. That means the Angel Gabriel is here telling the virgin Mary that she is going to bear the Christ child. (Ironically, Mary doesn't seem to care too much, but that is another story...)
Let me just say, before I make fun, that this is an amazing piece of art with some unique symbolism and incredible depth (note the hyper-realism: it actually shows more details that the human eye is capable of perceiving all at once, making it more impressive than a photograph... although, admittedly, Campin's perspective could use a bit of work).
However. My favorite part of the painting (and something that I can't help but laugh at) is the teeny tiny, cross-toting naked baby Jesus flying through the air in a ray of sunshine. Can't see him? Click on the picture and look at the figure above Gabriel's wing.

PLEASE someone do this with me!

The Bodies Exhibition is on display right now in Seattle up until the end of December. For those of you who don't know, they basically took a bunch of human bodies, dissected them, preserved them, and positioned them in a bunch of different positions. You can see all the organs and all kinds of cool stuff.
Anyway, I really want to go drive up there one day and check it out, is anyone interested in making the trip up there with me to see this? (please?)

...It won't come back to the northwest for a long, long time!

I WILL END YOU

So my little sister hangs out with this guy I don't really like (Brent). Don't get me wrong, he is a cool kid, but he treats my precious little sister like crap-- and I am not cool with that. His recent thing has been juggling a relationship with two seperate girls (one of whom is my sister). He leads her on and pretends like he likes her until the other girl is interested in him, then he drops her. Not cool.
Anyway, a month or so ago he invited my sister to homecoming at his school. Apparently he had also invited this other girl (who, I should mention, my sister doesn't really like, for obvious reasons). The dance is this saturday and my sister designed and sewed her own dress for it.
Little did we all know that he not ONLY invited my sister, he invited morgan (the other girl) as well. Somehow he thought it would be ok, the three of them going together. Well, clearly it didn't work. Morgan threw a hissy fit and Brent, being the dumb guy he is, called my sister and un-invited her to the dance so that he could go with morgan.
Anyway, I am done being tolerant of this kid. My sister has been moping around the last few days, depressed. And I swear that if I see Brent again, he is going to get quite an earful from me (if not a swift kick in the ass).

In other news, my brother announced today that after a night of sleeplessness and prayer, he has finally decided to stop smoking pot. Forgive my skepticism, as I know this is a good first step, but I have heard this announcement several times in the past few years. It's hard to get excited about something I don't really believe.
Also, he is postponing moving out indefinitely.

weird al/seattle/how NOT to flirt:

Okay. I will post something.
I spent the weekend in Seattle visiting Kess and Kristin at SPU. It was a very college-y weekend. It was a little surreal being in an actual college environment since Ai is anything but. There were people my age! In fact, pretty much everyone in that part of town was my age. Crazy. Except for Jade, I have not seen another 19-year-old in months.

Um. This term I am taking art history from gothic to neoclassism. So far it is amazing. Yet another subject I could easily major in, if I had a million lifetimes in which I could major in every possible field. I love it. So far we have studied a lot of Christian art and architecture (due to the Crusades which coincided with the Gothic period, most surviving artwork was Christian). It is sad that we are missing similar pieces from other faiths. How dumb.

Also. There is a ridiculously hot guy in this class. I noticed him the first day of class, which happened to be the day I was sick and decided not to wear makeup or brush my hair. I was wearing jeans and this giant Red Sox jacket I got from Kristin, and I looked like poo... anyway, I ALWAYS get comments about this jacket and I am not a fan at all. I don't really know anything about baseball. I didn't even know it was a red sox jacket until the red sox were in the world series my senior year, and someone pointed it out to me.
Anyway. I was wearing this jacket and was walking by the hot guy in the hallway during our break. He smiled at me (gorgeous smile by the way) and said, "So, are you from Mass?"
I was feeling a mixture of excitement at the fact that he was talking to me and confusion because I had no idea what he was saying. I smiled back my cutest possible I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about smile, and asked, "What?"
He repeated the question. I was frantically trying to think of what this sentence could possibly mean. For some reason it occured to me he must have been thinking he knew me from somewhere else. So what did I say?
"Oh... no. I'm not even Catholic."
...Boy did I feel retarded when he started laughing at me. "No, I meant, are you from Massachusetts? I'm from Boston."
I managed to shake my head and blush all the way to my ears before hurrying away in embarrassment. Man, I am so smooth.

(Later that same day, my friend Louis asked me what I wanted to do when I graduated, and I said "become an independent doctormentarian.")

I guess people will have to take my word for it that I'm smart, because I certainly have a hard time showing it.





P.S. Angie, you are probably right about the frogs orchestrating the jar incident. I would not be surprised in the slighest. I will have you know I had two very close (and very horrifying) encounters with large frogs this afternoon. The rainy seasons are the worst for frogs because them jump out of their little holes when they flood, and come up on the sidewalk (and into your houses). Watch out for them!

I am too busy to blog.
It sucks.

9 things that can make you dumber:

Some of these you may know; others you may not. This is a list of 9 things that can lower your IQ, either temporarily or permanently:

1) You weighed less than 5.5 lbs at birth (3 points)
2) Expose to secondhand smoke (4 points)
3) Smoking pot (4 points)
4) Sleep deprivation (5 points)
5) You left high school before your junior year (6 points)
6) You cried constantly as a baby (9 points)
7) Your pregnant mother took aspirin several times a week (10 points)
8) You constantly use IM or your BlackBerry (10 points)
9) You were born into poverty (14 points)

I am guilty of 4,6, and 8, which adds up to... a lot of points. If I had all those points, maybe I could be a genius (I don't know that for sure; the IQ points I lost were the ones that would have enabled me to do basic addition). Oh, the things that could have been.
And how ironic that text messaging actually makes you just as dumb as smoking pot AND dropping out of high school COMBINED. Terry, I'm sure you will get a kick out of that.

I am going to add as #10 blows to the head, because I am now significantly dumber than I was yesterday.

**The information in this post was collected by WIRED magazine, which is almost as true as the Bible, with exception to the article they recently published entitled "10 Reasons Keanu Rules".

ouch

I just had a glass jar break over my head. It fell off a shelf and onto my head. It hurt really bad. I am tired now but my mom told me not to go to sleep, so I am blogging to keep myself awake.

I don't really have anything to write about. Lately I have not been that excited about blogging. even if i write i don't read other peoples' very much, which makes me feel bad.

Ouch! my head hurts. I wish i had made cookies earlier because i want one right now.

Quake: the recap

So, I was planning on writing about this before now and since I didn't I don't remember what all I would have said. I'm not going to repeat anything because matt already said a lot about the conference on his blog.

So what I will say is this: I really enjoyed helping out at the Quake conference this past weekend, and I felt God moving through everything. It was a unique experience for me, I think, because I kind of fell within the target age group (it was supposed to be for junior high--college kids). So even though I was helping out, I still felt like I had a bit of a different perspective in terms of the way everything went, and it did have some kind of impact on me spiritually, although many of the themes didn't apply personally.
What I kept thinking all day on Saturday as I watched these kids respond with stories about painful family relationships was I am so thankful for my parents. As I was putting the prayer stations together, one verse really stuck in my mind: "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me."
The whole day I could not get that verse out of my head. I thought about the heartbreaking reality that some of these kids have lived through. I was so aware that this was not the case for me, and the gratefulness for that incredible blessing just shook me. During the last session, they asked for teenagers with christian parents to gather and lay hands on kids without christian parents and pray for them. I had th eopportunity to pray with an amazing girl whose father and stepmother don't know Christ. My heart broke for her, and it reminded me of my friend Caitie, whose atheist father died this last summer.
I don't know how to describe the reality that settled in me at that moment. But it was one of thankfulness coupled with painful conviction, and the understanding that I have not been blessed for my own benefit, but I have been blessed so that I may bless others. It definitely shook me. I feel foolish for not having grasped that concept before, but I am so glad that it sunk in the way it did.

On the other side of things, it was awesome to feel involved and to see the level of work that goes into these things. I was very impressed by the entire band, but especially by Joel. I sat with him in the sound booth for the better part of the sessions. Honestly, I don't know how he does all that he does. Between the two of us we managed to complete all the crazy tasks Mike threw at him last minute. But it was still hectic back there, and yet Joel was calm throughout everything.
I was so glad to be able to serve with Joel because he has such an amazing attitude and such a servant's heart. I hope for his sake that he has some help lined up for the next conferences, because it was WAY more than a one-man job. The only time he showed even a hint of how difficult his work was, was when Paul dismissed the students. Joel leaned his head back on the pew behind him and happily said, "It's over," closed his eyes for like two seconds, sighed, and then got up and started tearing down the equipment. I was amazed.
As for relationships, I feel like the sacred space team really bonded over this whole conference. Paul and I had some pretty good talks about the team and at one point, as he was thanking us for coming, he said, "It feels like my family is here." I was really touched by that because it felt so true. It made me realize how much we have grown together in that we look out for each other and truly care about each other. Even Jeremy, who just joined the team a couple weeks ago, has already become part of the family. It was a good realization.
We also had to opportunity to meet and train some amazing (AMAZING) women in the Tri-Cities. They were helpful, joyful, efficient and some of the nicest people I have ever met. They are going to do a great job with the creative planning for the rest of the conferences, and I was blessed by spending time with them.

I guess that is all I can say about it for now. I would say so much more but it would be hard to explain the rest anyway. Overall I came away with an appreciation for the ways God has blessed me in my family, both at home and with ethnos.

I got frustrated almost immediately after sitting down to type this because so many ideas came into my head that seemed so unrelated. However, the more I thought about these things, the more they became tied together.
If I were to sum up what is going on, I would say that I am finally being convicted about my lack of humility and my frequently self-righteous way of thinking. The conviction has led me to finally realize how much this wrong way of thinking has permeated my life.
I have many thoughts to share on this topic, and will probably do so later this week... right now I am still too frazzled to begin to explain.

Also, the plaster is coming off of my faith painting because I haven't yet had a chance to varnish it, and it doesn't like traveling back and forth to Ethnos every week. So that is high on my list of priorities tomorrow, because today when I picked it up to bring it to church the thumb fell off on one hand.
Now that is quality artwork. About as fragile as a wet paper towel.

P.S. Kristin, I am coming to visit you on Thursday, and we are going to see the Paul Allan art exhibit on display at the EMP because I heard you can see original gaugins and monets and the cost is only $8/person. Also... I hear the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display somewhere up there?

Quake--Teamwork--My little sister

Okay, so the last few days have been a crazy whirlwind of activity trying to get everything together for Quake. I think there was a lot more work there than I had initially realized. Maybe if I could go back in time I would change things so it didn't require that magnitude of work.
The thing is, we are supposed to be going up and training another sacred space team. I want to show them the best that the Ethnos Sacred Space team can do. I take pride in our work and am passionnate about the way we serve in the church. I also love every member of our team. If we can relate that sense of team and worship to another group of people, and share that with them, that will be awesome. I am excited for that opportunity.
Still, even for that, this was a TON of work. What makes it harder is that everyone was so busy around this time. With your friends (with a true team) you are more willing to pick up where other people leave off, to cut people slack, to take on more than your share here and there because you care about the people you are working with. And you don't want them to be overstressed. If I didn't care about the team at Ethnos I don't think I would have put so much work into this conference.
Guys, if you're reading this, consider it a labor of love.

I wasn't last night, but when I woke up this morning I was excited. I feel like we have a great opportunity here. My sister is riding up with me to attend this conference, and I am stoked for that. I am looking forward to spending some quality time with her, and getting her better introduced to the team. She is going to help us set up and everything. I think this is important for her because I feel like she could really be serving and getting involved if responsibility was given to her. She is a lot like me, and could take on most of the ministry responsibilities I have at Ethnos. I think it would be awesome if she could get more involved there. She would really love helping out with something like sacred space. She is a VERY talented artist (MUCH more so than I was at her age). But shy. Like me.
Also, I know how conferences like this can impact middle school and high school kids. I am praying for something like that with my sister.

Okay. I should go take a shower and pack up the car... that's all I have to say right now. Pray for everyone this weekend!

Yikes.

I got so much done!

Today was such a productive day!
It feels good to bump a few things off my to-do list.

Also-- School starts on Wednesday.
I got a letter in the mail today from the Dean, and it informed me I am in fact working toward a BS and NOT a BFA. I am pleased; I never wanted a BFA. I think for my particular field of interest a BS will get me much further.
Ahhh... I love science.

P.S.
(I know everyone is going to laugh at me or roll their eyes and go "This girl has problems." But I have to write about this.)
Today as I was working in the office I noticed there was some gross ball of fuzz on the floor. Although there was absolutely no reason to think it, I had the fleeting worry, "what if that's a dried frog?" (I have thoughts like this because I am crazy. I cannot prevent them, but I try to ignore them when they come up.)
So, instead of indulging my fears, I continued on with what I was doing at that particular moment, and when I was finished, leaned over to throw away the fuzz.
But in that moment my worst fears were realized, as it was in fact a dried-up frog lying on its back. Don't worry, I didn't touch it. I gasped and ran out of the room, went and found my brother, and asked him to take care of it for me. I couldn't go back into the office until I knew it was gone.
Even after that I was grossed out, and as I sit here I can't help but wonder if there are other frogs in this room.
Perhaps this was the frog that tormented me last week when I was trying to do my Bible study? If so, I am pleased that nature got its sweet revenge.

...I think I need therapy.

Let me be the first to personally welcome you into the month of Auctiontober. I would have done so yesterday, but I was not feeling up to the challenge.
This is how Auctiontober goes: everyone is stressed. When I say "everyone" I primarily mean my friends on the Sacred Space Team, all of whom are to the point of pulling out their hair and having spontaneous meltdowns. However, I assume this trend will prove itself for the rest of the church and our friends outside the church as well.
Why is October such a busy month? I don't know. All I know is, day #2 and I'm already wishing it were over. I don't even have an auction like Ashby does, a GIANT presentation like Doug does, two conferences to lead like the Paul Ramey Band does, etc.
I'm a little frustrated with myself because I expected to have found a job right now, and I'm so busy with other things that I haven't even gotten myself together enough to really start looking.
(Okay... Mike Thibedeaux just called me TWICE in the time it took me to type that last paragraph. And right after that he paged me his number. And he left two messages. I don't really have anything to say to him and I know if I answer my phone I will be caught up in a conversation that lasts, like, 45 minutes (at the least). I told him to wait until Tuesday for the video stuff he asked me for and I'm betting he wants to "check in" on that again...)
Ugh.
The point is, welcome to October. Everyone is really stressed, so please pray for us all. Pray that October will end really really soon.
Thanks.

today, my asthma has decided, is a good day to try and strangle me.

ashbyduck (9:40:24 PM): (jenn is buying tickets to a michael w smith concert. what should i do?)
audioangel2 (9:40:31 PM): OH NO
audioangel2 (9:40:36 PM): INTERVENE.
ashbyduck (9:40:44 PM): HOW?!
audioangel2 (9:40:54 PM): is she doing it on the computer?
audioangel2 (9:41:00 PM): THROW THE COMPUTER OUT THE WINDOW