Its love.

I'm still alive, although you can't tell by my blog post. In October, I posted at least once a week. November had a grand total of 1 post (2 if you count this one). Its not that November has been uneventful, its been very eventful actually, but it has just gone by so fast! In fact, my whole semester has gone by fast! Everyone says senior year goes by fast but this is a little ridiculous. This semester has FLOWN. Its like faster than the speed of light! In the past I would have given anything for my semesters to go by this fast, but now I'm really wishing there was a pause button somewhere. But no. This semester has gone so fast, you just kinda close your eyes and hope you don't crash.

I feel like I haven't had time to do anything this semester! One thing I haven't gotten to do much is read. Reading for pleasure that is. I have read plenty this semester, but mostly stuff for class. And while Dr. English's book Theology Remixed was really good, I haven't gotten to read books I enjoy nearly as much as I would have liked.

I love reading. I love getting lost in a book and investing in the characters. I always tell myself  "just a few more pages.....I'm just going to finish this chapter." 4 chapters later I finally find the will power to put the book down. I haven't always loved reading. I hated it for a long time. Truly hated it. But that's the life of a dyslexic kid. Mom even swears she used to pay me to read, although I remember no such deal.

 I always loved stories, even when I didn't like to read. .When I was a kid,  I loved when  people would  to read to me, especially  The Box Car Children. That was my favorite growing up and where I got my first taste of getting hooked on a story. I also love  to watch a movie and watch the story develop   When I was a kid, I would make up stories and have my Barbies and stuff animals act them out. I remember the first time I saw The Nutcracker and sitting wide-eyed in the theater as I got sucked into the story of Clara and her wooden solider.   I was and still am all about a good story. But it wasn't until about 2 years ago that I really started appreciating the wonder of books. Now I can't get enough. Its like crack! I just need one little fix! Just one more chapter!!!

So what kind of books do I like? All kinds. But my favorite has to be dystopia books. The fallen or twisted society. I don't know why I love it, but I do. Books like Divergent, Hunger Games and Delirium. SOO good! There is always one character (usually the main one) who, either by choice or some situation they are thrown into, decided to stand up and fight! I love the risking it all, fighting for a better life. I love cheering for the rebellion.

I also like ministry books, like Kisses from Katie. Travel books (either time or regular) like Moloka'i, Wonderlust, and The Time Traveler's Wife spark my interest. I like classics like The Scarlet Letter, Sound and the Fury, and To Kill a Mocking Bird. I read Scarlet Letter in high school and feel in love with Hester. I love the chaos in Sound and the Fury. I even liked Oedipus Rex and The Odyssey when I read them. But they are not on my frequent-reading list.

I could go on listing books for pages. But my favorite book (and don't judge me for this) is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.  I LOVE Harry Potter...like a whole lot. But the Order has always been my favorite. It's the turning point in this epic journey. Its full of loyalty, friendship, magic, evil, love, adventure, and risking it all to fight for Good. Everything I love wrapped up into one book.

I love to open a book and looking into this other world. To get drawn in and visit these places, some real, some pretend or to travel to the past or get a gimps of whats to come. There is nothing better than curling up with a book.

What books do you love? Any good recommendations?

Pretty Clothes

A lot of people are doing the 30 days of thankfulness thing. I have been doing it during my Jesus time, journaling something I'm thankful for and then spending time in prayer about it. Today, I am totally thankful for pretty clothes, but more specifically, a dress and 2 sweater I got yesterday. I LOVE them!!! I love how I look in them, I love how they feel. And I love how I feel in them. I just love them and can't wait for it to get a little colder so I can wear them.

Okay, so don't write me off as a totally valley girl who is obsessed with clothes and material things. Most days, I rock a t-shirt, jeans, hoodie and a pair of converse with a hole in them. This whole "I like pretty clothes" is a really new thing for me. Its new for 2 reasons. First, I have reached a point in my life where I need "grown-up clothes." Meaning I need clothes I can wear to an interview, internship, or even class. And as scary as all that is, a new dress makes the entering the grown up world a little less scary. The second, and more important reason I have developed this love of clothes, is I feel good in them. There was a point in my life several years ago when I wasn't excited about clothes. I didn't want pretty clothes because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. I put too much value in worldly beauty, being a certain size, having the "right" brand of clothes or flawless makeup every day. My confidence was a day-to-day thing. If I had a bad hair day, my confidence was shattered for the whole day. Even on days when I had a good hair day or pretty shirt, I couldn't enjoy it. It felt like a chore. I desperately wanted Harry Potter to be real so I could get an invisibility cloak and just hide under it.

But then God started teaching me to see myself the way He sees me. Slowly but surely, I started to see myself as His creation, starting seeing His beauty in me. I stopped caring about what was considered beautiful and started to become comfortable in my own skin. Once I became comfortable in my own skin, I was able to enjoy things like a pretty new dress.

This doesn't mean I always dress up. Right now I'm in a campus ministry shirt, jeans that I febrezed this morning, and hair in a messy bun. And it also doesn't mean I feel "pretty" every day either. Like today. Today was not a "pretty" day. Mostly because I rolled outta bed at 10:47 for an 11:00 class. (Hence the messy bun.) But I still feel comfortable in my own skin and one bad hair day doesn't change that.

Being excited about pretty clothes or not caring that my hair is a hot mess reminded me to be thankful that I'm comfortable in my own skin. To thank God for teaching  me to see myself the way He sees me.