Raw

raw (adj.)  1. a. Being in a natural condition; not processed or refined.  b. Not finished, covered, or coated.  2. Recently finished; fresh.  

Sometimes I wonder why I choose the music I prefer to listen to.  The most listened to genre in my music arsenal is most definitely alternative/metal.  What in the world ever influenced me to listen to these types of music?  It all starts with my dad.  My dad's been a classic rock fan since high school (so I've been told).  From there, he started listening to bands like Metallica a little more casually in the car or at home.  I think that's where it started for me, too.  One of my first CDs was Metallica's "Load".  After that, I started listening to X103 (which is Indy's premiere alternative radio station).  I had a couple of friends who were into Bush and some of those guys, but I was always hypnotized by the harder rock gurus.  In high school, I was pretty much the only one of my friends that listened to alternative/metal bands.  Some of my guy friends listened to the same stuff, but my girl friends listened to easier rock (which I have no problem with...yeah Coldplay!).  Still...I couldn't shake the alternative riffs out of my body.  In college, my love of Christian alternative expounded into a fairly solid collection of CDs.  I think Jonathan and Katie Jenkins were the start of that (thanks a million!).  

Now...to ease your wonderings as to why there are definitions of the word "raw" at the top, continue reading :).  I truly and honestly believe that the real reason I listen to so much alt/metal is because it is, by the definitions at the top, raw.  It conveys such a sense of earthiness that I just can't help but dig into it.  At the same time, alt/metal music also has a freshly finished quality to it.  There's always a new way to rearrange the chords of one song to make it sound completely different, yet there's no other song that sounds like it. 

Raw, yet refined.  That's what I yearn to become.  I already know that I am someone who wears her heart on her sleeve and speaks her mind without thinking (this happens a bit too often sometimes), but I am also someone who wants to become more practiced in areas of compassion and patience, truth and love.  In order to do so, I need to dig into the rawness of Jesus.  Oh yes...Jesus was raw.  He wasn't afraid to dive into the pits of the societies just to reach one soul.  Jesus was also a very patient, compassionate, honest, and loving man.  He got dirty, but did so with a smile on His face and an immense love in His heart.  

Jesus was raw.

Recent Activity

This week marks the first week of work with the Coalition.  So far, it's been a blast!!!  The kids are great!  The one's I've worked with (3rd and 1st graders) are willing to learn and know that they have to finish their homework before they can go play.  The 1st graders are so darn adorable!  Tomorrow should be fun :).

This past weekend, several Emmanuel students/faculty and families went to Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, for retreat.  It was gorgeous, to say the least!  I would absolutely love to go back there for another small vacation.  It's about an hour and a half away from here so that's not a bad trip at all.  We didn't get to explore much of the area around it, but if there were a mall and such, I could probably convince the in-laws to take a trip down with us ;).

In home news, I got an email from Michael the other day about an old member of the Campus House.  His name is Malcolm Richards and, if you know him, be very careful around him.  Those of us who know a bit about Malcolm's history with the Campus House know that his current offenses aren't the first offenses he's ever committed (just ask Michael H., Tad, or Jeff).  The crime he recently committed was claiming to have a bomb strapped to himself to gain an officer's gun and squad car in Pewaukee, Wisconsin.  I can't really say that I'm surprised, but the one thing I find incredibly fascinating is how much Malcolm's story is like the antagonist's plot lines of Frank Peretti's The Visitation.  Strange, yet interesting.  Please, pray for Malcolm.

I hope everyone's had a great start to their week!  I know I have :D

Laurel Falls

For sure, you have to be lost to find a place that can't be found, elseways everyone would know where it was.
--Captain Barbossa

Funny story. I wanted to visit Laurel Falls and take some pictures. Naturally, I looked up some trails that would lead to the falls. I found a promising trail that left from Dennis Cove Road in Hampton. I followed the guy's instructions online...or so I thought. I ended up wandering around the Appalachian Trail for about 2 hours until I found two men and a woman (they weren't the first people I saw, but the first one's who knew how to get to the falls). We walked for another 15-20 minutes and there they were. I was told by one of the men (Rusty, who hikes back there once a month) that I'd missed the trail leading down to the falls. Apparently, I missed it twice seeing as I did some backtracking. Getting back to my car from the falls didn't take nearly as long as getting there, but it was worth the trip. Below is the best picture (I think) I took of the falls. This won't be the last picture of the falls either :).


Have a great Sunday everyone!

Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Hebrews 11:1

This morning I had my first interview with Coalition for Kids (a.k.a. the Rock) and I have to say that it went really well. Jeff helping me out a bit yesterday (mostly giving me pointers of "dos" and "don'ts") and my own preparation in the shower this morning truly paid off. Coldplay also helped to keep my nerves down in the car on my way there :). I have a second interview tomorrow morning at 10:30 with the director of the Rock. I met him briefly after my interview today and he seems like a really awesome guy. He's a bit hard around the edges, but that doesn't intimidate me whatsoever. In fact, I knew a youth pastor in high school who reminds me of Randy (the director) and he was the biggest teddy bear I'd ever met. Randy seems like he might be very blunt in his faith and, well, everything, but, again, that's just fine with me.

I truly hope that I get this job. Not only will it be some income (finally), but it will also be incredible experience for me if I wish to continue my psychology/counselor path of life. The kids that I'd be tutoring are "at-risk" kids, which will be a challenge, but an awesome challenge at that. The down side is that the job starts out at minimum wage ($6.55/hour), but I was told there are pay increases depending on your level of experience, education, etc., so I'm hoping (and fervently praying) that, if I do land this job, I'll get a pay increase shortly thereafter. I do plan on looking for another job to supplement because at $6.55/hour for 15 hours/week, we're not going to be making ends meet well. The scholarship that Jeff received will definitely help, but, again, I'd really hate to have to dip into the hard-earned money that Jeff has saved up for his schooling.

Overall, I need to remember one thing: I'm totally not in control of this. God has His mighty hand everywhere and I'm trying my best to lean solely on Him and forget my own ambitions. Hebrews 11 is where the definition of faith comes from. Following are several examples of faith from the Old Testament. The author of Hebrews (whoever they are) makes it a point to note that not one of the examples of faith lived a glorious life. This fact needs to be a constant reminder because God won't give me exactly what I want; instead, He'll give me exactly what He knows I need.

Running and Recent Developments

Today I ran the most I've run since high school. It wasn't anything big, but about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile to the gym, then 2.35 miles on the elliptical. I finished the workout with a nice routine of arm exercises and squats (to ice the cake ;) ). I could barely walk up the stairs when I got home, but it's incredibly worth it. I really want to get myself back into shape and Michele's just the person to do it: she's older (thus wiser) than me, she's in really good shape herself, and she has a nice competitive edge. The perfect workout partner :). I can't wait till Wednesday!

Since I still have quite a bit of downtime, I've been working on some more icons. The current series is a bit nerdy, seeing as they are Harry Potter icons, but I'm flexing my GIMP muscles and really giving them my best shot. Below are the finished icons so far.

Closed Folder (Harry's trunk)

My Computer (Dumbledore's pensieve)

Internet (Harry's Firebolt)
Recycle Bin - Empty (empty cauldron)Recycle Bin - Full (cauldron with potion)

There are plenty more on the way so keep an eye out for them :). Please continue to pray for the job situation down here. I still don't have one and am still desperately searching for one. Please pray for God's timing.

Have a great week!

Progression

I think Michele is my new resistance against heart disease.

Being Labor Day, Jeff and I, naturally, bummed around most of the day. I did manage to shift gears around 6 to get ready to go work out with Michele. For those of you who don't know Michele, let me take some time to introduce you to her. Michele is married and has a 15-month old little girl, Isabelle, who is absolutely gorgeous. She's a very good playmate for Tyler seeing as Tyler never had any playmates his age (yes, Ava, but she's 8 months older than Ty). Michele is also a runner. She runs good distances each time she goes for a run. Me, on the other hand...one and a half miles and I'm wasted. Needless to say, I've finally found a workout partner to aspire to instead of being someone else's aspiration (no offense, Haley). My workout tonight was great! I "ran" two and a half miles on the elliptical, then hit the weights. I was drenched afterward, but it was completely worth it. My only real qualm was not having anything to really look at for 30 minutes on the elliptical. At Irving, there were several TV's, and other people, that I could pay attention to. At Milligan, it's like being back in my old high school gym: just weights, not much else. I don't mind not having a TV, but it's kind of awkward (to me, anyway) staring at a stack of fold-up chairs :P. It'll just take some getting used to, I'm sure.

I hope everyone's enjoyed their Labor Day!


*NOTE: Michele - sorry I sound like a huge geek. I'm just very inspired by your running prowess :).