For The Love of Toenails

So today, I got hit on (I think) at Dollar Tree.

I was standing in the aisle that has posterboard, teacher's supplies and a few wedding-type stuff. I was looking at the bulletin board supplies when the big tall black man next to me says "I like that nail polish." I looked over and was just sort of like, "Um, thanks," which apparently was the go-ahead for him to continue. "I just looked over and was like, wow! Those are nice toes!"

Now, I know I'm single and not really into the whole dating scene, but is this really considered a pick up line?! Or an appropriate conversation starter at Dollar Tree?! From there he went on to joke about how you come in for one thing and leave with a whole basketful. When I walked away a minute later, he wished me a good day....and I promptly texted my friends about my weird happenstance. Any my toes don't even look particularly cute today! I stubbed both of my big toes while I was away so the nails are all weird and the nail polish is chipping.

Moral of the story: Always have cute toes. And Dollar Tree can be a hopping place for singles!

When God Shows Off

I love when God shows off, even if no one else sees it.

Yesterday I was working 7-3 (after staying out past midnight for karaoke). I walked in to my favorite unit to check the schedule and where I was going to be. I was assigned to a floor I've only been to a handful of times, a floor that's not my favorite, mostly because I don't really know the residents and their routine, yada yada.

I was walking away from my favorite unit to this other unit, I prayed that I would have a nice, easy day and that even though it never happens and will never happen, could I please walk onto the unit and have them send me to over my favorite unit. So as I sucked it up and walked onto the unit, I smiled and said good morning to a fellow nurse who then promptly said she had asked the supervisor and could we please switch units today and did I mind going to my favorite unit?

How awesome is God?! Like, INSTANT answer to IMPOSSIBLE prayer. Seriously, this is the kind of thing that just doesn't happen over here. Usually, its the opposite. I'll be assigned to a unit I like and someone will ask to switch. I love when God shows off! And I still had a nice, easy day :)

It Makes Me Sad

Lately I've been noticing a sad change in the teens I work with. Lately I've seen the "good kids" -kids in leadership, even- doing and saying strange things on facebook. Now, I know teens are notorious for changing their minds or experimenting or whatever. I get that, but that's not what this is. And I'm not talking about teens that are consistently rebelling and leaving their church upbringing. Those people make me sad, too, but that's a different issue. I'm talking about the ones who have always had high morals, high values, the ones who have been the leaders in the group, who are now making dirty jokes (sometimes very dirty jokes) and joining the most ridiculous and disgusting groups. These are the same ones who then come to church or youth group and act all holy and look at me like nothing is going on. They defend it by saying it was just a joke.

Last night, one such girl, who I've been fairly close to over the years, had a dirty status. Lately I've been noticing these things happening on her page, suggestive statuses and groups, etc., and have gently confronted her. Last night was no different. I saw that another person my age had confronted her on the status, and I threw my two cents in as well. I said that I was tired of seeing people come to church and worship, but then have dirty jokes on their facebooks a few hours later. I said if the way you live doesn't match what you believe, then its wrong. Today I went on and found that she deleted me from her friends.

It makes me sad. There's only so much I can do. It's sad to not only see people going down a bad path like this, but to watch the total change and be powerless to stop it. It's sad to see people who used to come seeking advice turn around and ignore it.

It just makes me sad.

Maid Marion

So there I was, sitting at the drive-in, watching the new Robin Hood movie wondering what I was doing there; so not my type of movie! But the drive-in's always fun, so I went. Sat through all the killing and whatnot. Well, then they get to the scene in Nottingham where the bad guys lock all the townspeople in one building (after senseless killing and beating) and set it on fire while Lady Marion is almost being raped by some bad guy. When they started lighting the fire under the townspeople, I first had the thought like, "Wow, they really used to do this back then. How can people be so heartless?" Then immediately I had the thought, "They STILL do this. Christians all over the world are being pillaged and raped and beaten and burned for doing nothing wrong." It was like, too much for me to handle. I felt sick. I closed my eyes and hid under my blanket for a minute, but that new reality was too much to turn away from. I had to keep watching. I found myself feeling like I was in Marion's shoes. These were the people she loved. The people she did everything for. She was locked in a building away from them, hearing their screams. So she did whatever she had to do. She pulled out the hidden dagger she had and killed the man trying to rape her. Then, with the help of orphans, escaped that building and pulled the rest of her friends-her family- out of the burning building, before starting a new life with the kids who everyone else forgot. I found myself praying, "God, am I supposed to be like Lady Marion? I feel this tug in my heart to go, to help, but how?? I'm not brave enough to be Lady Marion. I'm not whatever enough to be Lady Marion." And I think of Amy Carmichael and so many others who just responded to the call and asked God to help with the rest.

So Lord, here I am. I'm not brave enough. I'm not strong enough. I don't have enough faith. I don't have any answers. I don't know what I'm doing. But I have a willing heart. Mold me into your Lady Marion, someone who sees the need and responds, no matter the personal cost. Show me Your way, Your plan for all this. Take this crazy jumble of ideas and dreams and fill it with Your energy so it all amounts to something. Make me what you need me to be. And Lord, if its not too much to ask, a Robin Hood to help me out would be pretty nice, too ;)

Catch Up and Candy

Well, its been a little while since I've posted anything, so here I am! I have fully paid my trip, so its all set and I can't wait! I'm currently subbing while the official teacher has flown to Texas to adopt a baby girl!! Its soo exciting! Can't wait to meet her :) Here's some of whats been going on for me in the past month:

I enjoyed the first ice cream cone of the year

I ran the cotton candy machine for CCA's River RunI learned that if you leave some cotton candy on the whatchamacallit for a while, it turns into candy glass.

So cool!I went to the beach with friends. Wasn't feeling good (had a nasty sinus infection), so all I did was lay on the blanket, which made for a fabululously relaxing day! No pictures, except of these interesting Skittles. They fizz on your tongue! Strange science.And on Mother's day, after surprising my mom and visiting my grandmother at the nursing home, I took this picture. There was a bird sitting on the Christmas lights originally, but he flew away. I still think its a kinda cool picture. So, thats about it for now, I guess. I worked alot this month, so nothing really exciting happened, aside from paying off my trip and reading a few books. Oh! I did make a new blog page: Is There Anything Better.... check it out if you haven't yet!

"No More Christian Nice Girl"

So I think I had mentioned a few weeks ago that I received this book via LibraryThing's ARC program. I just finished reading it, so here is my review!

No More Christian Nice Girl addresses an all-too-common problem facing Christian women today: The need to be Nice vs. being Good. Our culture, especially in the church, is telling women to be nice, even when it hurts. Always smile, always say something nice, don't make waves. This niceness-at-all-costs attitude leaves women as resentful doormats who can't, or won't, stand up for themselves. Christian women are especially prone to this because of the false assumption that to be like Jesus we must be meek and mild.

Coughlin and Degler make the case that in order to truly be a follower of Christ, women need to understand and emulate the real 360-degree Jesus of the Bible, not the meek Jesus portrayed in children's books. The real Jesus knew when to be nice, but also when to stand up for what was good. The real Jesus was even *gasp* mean, when the situation called for it. By grasping who Jesus really is, women can get out of the false-niceness loop and start being good. They can fix their relationships and stand up for themselves when they need to.

This is an easy read. A short book, with stories in each chapter illustrating the main points. The authors discuss how to be one of God's Good Women in friendships, the workplace, dating and marriage relationships, even in the bedroom. Very easy to understand and follow. Good illustrations for each point.

I liked it, especially the part about the real Jesus (goes along with another book I recently finished, Jesus Mean and Wild). But there was something I didn't like that I can't quite put my finger on. Maybe it was just that since I'm not dating, married, or in a very competitive work place I couldn't relate to half the book. Overall, it was a good book. Good points and tips.

Rating: 3/5 Stars. I recommend it!

Secret Life of the American Single

These gorgeous daffodils were at McDonald's, of all places. I LOVE the two tones! God is so cool :)

I can't believe Easter has passed already! I feel like it was just New Year's Eve! But, April it is and I have my European trip almost completely paid for! I know some of you are curious about the details, but beyond what countries I'll be in, I'm still waiting for details myself! I'll post about that when it gets closer.

Cala and I decorated eggs. Somehow, I didn't get pictures of the eggs we dyed, just the veggie tale ones.

The beginning of the week had AMAZING weather! It was almost like summer; it was wonderful. Easter Eve was a cookout and bonfire with friends. Perfect weather for it! Played some Bocce Ball, ate yummy food (Kristin's dessert was completely delicious!), the fire almost went out of control. Easter Sunday, after lunch with my family and our "extended family", I played on the playground with a friend. Its great to be 23!

Wednesday night, I went to karaoke with some friends at the Woburn Applebees and had a ball! So much fun, I almost want to stop working Wednesday nights! I even won a prize pack: a t-shirt, glass and pin. Not bad ;)

At one point in the night, My friend Chrissy looks over at me with a "look". The kind of look that makes me think I should've dished about a boy but didn't....mostly because there is no boy. Our friend Kathryn looks at her and magically knows what she's thinking, so they whisper and then share with me: "So...what do you think of (insert boy's name)?" Now, to understand why this question made me screechy-laugh at them and drop my head on the table, we need to back up a few weeks.

One nice Sunday afternoon, we were driving around, talking about the fact that everyone is getting married or having babies. They both have their crushes and couldn't believe that there is no one for me to even like, so they developed a plan. They decided it was their mission to be my personal matchmakers and set me up with someone from their church or Bible study. That is how the whole karaoke thing came about. They invited me to come and said they would hook me up with someone there. They named a few guys and told me to pick (issue number one: how am I supposed to decide that someone is crush/date/spouse material by their name alone?!). So I laughed along, thinking they were joking.

Fast forward to this Wednesday. They gave me "the look" because the guy who stopped and said hi to them (I was not introduced) and then sang a song is one of the guys they had mentioned two weeks before! (insert hysterical laughter-breakdown here). So, they recruited another friend into KC Matchmakers Inc. who made it a point to drag him over to our table and introduce him to me. Very awkward...made more awkward by the fact my mouth was full of chocolate-chip cookie sundae, which then fell out of my mouth. Very graceful.

So, at the end of the night, one of the guys they had named appeared to have a girlfriend, the other, from the story above, seems very nice but not really my type (I'm not what you'd call a biker chick...), and I am still single. Which is okay. Most of the time I really am happy to be single. I like my life and look forward to it getting better. The only time my singleness really bugs me is weddings....or when I'm out with all couples and my brother...that's not too exciting. But all in all, I'm happy in my singledom for however long it lasts and plan to enjoy my life to the fullest!