a stolen prayer

so i am copying this from a friend's blog (her name also being miranda, actually!).  though it takes a humorous approach, it really reflects the desires of my heart, too, minus the part about being allergic to cats.

Dear God,

If there is someone out there for me then I pray that he waits for me. And whoever he is, wherever he is, I hope he thinks I’m worth that wait because he will probably end up waiting on me a lot. Like when I try and decide on what flavor ice cream to get or when I do my hair (blast those unruly curls!) And please let him love dancing - at parties, in socks in the kitchen, and in the rain (NOT a hurricane). He doesn’t have to like fashion at all but I hope he tolerates it enough to let me enjoy it. In return, I’ll give him and his buddies snacks and full reign of the TV for Monday Night Football. If I haven’t met him yet I hope we meet in a funny way that makes a good story. And if we have met...who is it?!?! I hope he is silly, but that he takes his faith seriously. I want him to love me, but You more. Bless that boy in advance for voluntarily spending the rest of his life connected to my crazy family. I pray the reason we are apart now is because you are doing big things in each of us and that when we are together its only because our ministry is better together. Keep us together, forever. And Lord, if there isn’t someone out there for me please give me a passion for something I can fully commit to and emerge myself in. And a good dog. Or two. Because you know I’m allergic to cats.

Amen.

poisonwood

the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver} was my latest read.  i have been moving somewhat slowly the last month or so with my reading list.  life has just been so busy with grading, doing my own schoolwork, traveling, work, and a number of other things.  i am hoping to hit the ground running (or reading) again this week.  i finished the poisoinwood bible a couple of weeks ago.  definitely a sad, interesting read.  it was the story of a christian family that made a sudden move to the congo to serve as missionaries.  though it is fiction, it is a picture of what is wrong with family leaders that get so caught up in the ministry that they forget about serving their own family. 

"i could see that the whole idea and business of childhood was nothing guaranteed.  it seemed to me, in fact, like something more or less invented by white people and stuck onto the front end of grown-up life like a frill on a dress."  the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}

"if your brother is going to steal your hen, save your honor and give it to him first."  the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}

"you can't just point to the one most terrible thing and wonder why it happened...each bad thing causes something worse...if you look hard enough you can always see reasons, but you'll go crazy if you think it's all punishment for your sins...god doesn't need to punish us. he just grants us a long enough life to punish ourselves."  the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}

"marriage is one long fit of compromise, deep and wide.  there is always one agenda swallowing another, a squeaky wheel crying out.  but hasn't our life together meant more to the world than either of us could have meant alone?"  the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}

"...you have nothing to lose but your chains.  but i don't happen to agree.  if chained is where you have been, your arms will always bear marks of the shackles.  what you have to lose is your story, your own slant.  you'll look at the scars on your arms and see mere ugliness, or you'll take great care to look away from them and see nothing.  either way, you have no words for the story of where you came from."  the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}

"i think of him exactly that way.  we are the balance of our damage and our transgressions.  he was my father.  i own half his genes, and all of his history.  believe this:  the mistakes are part of the story.  i am born of a man who believed he could tell nothing but the truth, while he set down for all time the poisonwood bible."  the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}

welcomed with open arms

today i went with a dear friend to a live simulcast of beth moore's living proof {more on this in a later post}.  i wanted to take a minute to share a couple of songs that touched me during worship.  i'll just share portions of the lyrics.  i pray that these lyrics are a reminder of God's endless love for you, yes YOU!  the first set is a picture of how God loves us, of how God knows us.  he knows our every tear.  he knows our every hurt, disappointment, frustration behind those tears.

he knows my name...he knows my every thought...he sees every tear that falls...and he hears me when i call

 the second set of lyrics reminds me of how i come before God.  i am certain that you can relate. 

i come broken to be mended...i come wounded to be healed...i come desperate to be rescued...i come empty to be filled...i come guilty to be pardoned...by the blood of christ the lamb...and i'm welcomed with open arms...just as i am

do you hear that last part?  and i'm welcomed with open arms.  let that resound in your heart.  may you know that today.  know that your heavenly father welcomes you with open arms even if you are broken, even if you are wounded, even if you are desperate, even if you are empty, even if you are guilty.  he has welcomed you into his arms.

the great alice

two more books checked off of the reading list.  a few books behind, but i am moving forward.  this week's reads:  the great gatsby { f. scott fitzgerald} and alice's adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}.  i actually read the great gatsby in high school and remembered enjoying it.  now reading again, i have decided it is just depressing, a sad way to live.  a few years ago, i remember watching alice in wonderland with a few kids at work and thinking, "what is this?  this is actually a kid's movie?  what someone in less than a normal state of mind when it was created?"  of course, as a kid, you do not see the oddities, but watching it as an adult certainly makes you realize, it is not a normal story.  i was really interested in reading the book then so i could see how the book and movie compared.  well, no let down there.  the book is full of even more oddities.  as always though, here are a few quotes that stuck out to me.

"in my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that i've been turning over in my mind ever since.  'whenever you feel like criticizing any one,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'"  the great gatsby { f. scott fitzgerald}

"there are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired."  the great gatsby { f. scott fitzgerald}  [i know where i would categorize myself these last few weeks - the busy and the tired.  i need to fix this.]

"in two weeks it'll be the longest day in the year...do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it?  i always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it."  the great gatsby { f. scott fitzgerald}  [true?  yes.  being a planner, i feel as though i am always looking forward to this or to that.  before i know it, this or that has passed.  sometimes i am so focused on the this or that, that i do not fully engage myself in the actual moment of enjoying the this or that.  have you missed a this or a that?]

"'and what is the use of a book,' thought alice, 'without pictures or conversations?'"  alice's adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}

"she generally gave herself very good advice (though she very seldom followed it)"  alice's adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}  [describe you?  describes me.]

"and the moral of that is--'be what you would seem to be'--or, if you'd like it put more simply--'never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.'"  alice's adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}

it has been quite dreary the last two days here.  rain.wind.rain.cold.rain.  tonight, i am snuggling up on the couch with a hot cup of tea and beginning my new read, the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}.  i am excited to begin this read for two reasons.  one:  i will be reading it with a friend so we can discuss it as we go.  two:  that sweet friend surprised me one day with a copy of the book that she picked up for me while she was shopping simply because she knew it was on my list.  love simple, thoughtful gifts.

smiling, but we're close to tears

the last couple weeks at work have been overwhelming.  i've battled students.  i've battled parents of the students.  i've battled husbands of the students.  i've battled tears.  lots of tears.  despite flowers from a sweet friend and lunch from a generous professor, friday of last week ended with a voicemail that defeated the last bit of strength, composure, and confidence i felt i had to perform my job well.  sound dramatic?  in those moments, it was nothing but dramatic.

though this week i still had battles to fight, my friday ended on a completely different note.  before shutting down my work computer, i received this message from a student, "thank you so much miranda!  you are an angel!  have a fantastic weekend!"

this note of thanks and appreciation was incredible, seriously.  it made me think back to something i had read earlier in the week from my utmost for his highest {oswald chambers}:  "the lives that have been the greatest blessing to you are the lives of those people who themselves were unaware of having been a blessing."  while it is true, a simple thanks goes a long way, when that appreciation seems to be completely out of the blue, it goes an even further distance.  i needed that today.

needless to say, i have found it easy the past couple of weeks to complain, to be miserable, to throw many, many self-pity parties.  not that anyone does, but i do not like being miserable.  it goes against who i am.  so i am thankful that things are looking up.  sometimes things are tough, but i have plenty in my life to be joyful.  even though i get close to tears, i am still smiling.  know that feeling?

never judge a book by its cover

a journey i would take and a journey i would not.  this describes the books i read this week.  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett} is a light read and enjoyable for my 'i like all things girly' perspective.  complete opposite of that:  a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}.  how this book made it on the reading list i am not entirely sure.   i pushed through the scientific read this week, though.  fortunately, it was not nearly as graphic or scary as i had anticipated based on the book cover.  as the saying goes, 'never judge a book by its cover.'

a sign of a sad life:  "people never like me and i never like people." the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"it made her think that i was curious how much nicer a person looked when he smiled.  she had not though of it before."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"one of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.  i am going to try and experiment."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"you learn things by saying them over and over and thinking about them until they stay in your mind forever."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}"

"th' more they laugh th' better for 'em!"  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"much more surprising things can happen to any one who, when a disagreeable or discouraged thought comes into his mind, just has the sense to remember in time and push it out by putting in an agreeable determinedly courageous one.  two things cannot be in one place."  the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}

"'and whichsoever way thou goest, may fortune follow!'"   a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}

"for my part, i was in a state of painful indecision--i desired to embark on the journey and to succeed, and still i feared the result."  a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}

"then, like a child, i shut my eyes, that i might not see the darkness."  a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}

"man's constitution is so peculiar that his health is purely a negative matter.  no sooner is the rage of hunger appeased than it becomes difficult to comprehend the meaning of starvation.  it is only when you suffer that you really understand."  a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}

earthquake survivor

was that...an earthquake?!?! 

earthquake (noun):  a series of vibrations induced in the earth's crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating.

yes, i experienced my first earthquake today.  where was i and what was i doing?  sitting in my office preparing student teacher placements and paperwork for the orientation meeting.  one {news} report.  it measured a 5.8 in magnitude.  the {data}.

it was pretty serious...as you can tell from this picture.  i am so thankful to say i am an earthquake survivor.

disclaimer:  not my picture.  just the picture everyone is passing around to show the devastation of the august 23, 2011 earthquake.  enjoy! 

lions, and tigers, and bears...oh my!

the help.  novel and book...well-done. 

"i don't know what to say to her.  all i know is, i ain't saying it.  and i know she ain't saying what she want a say either and it's a strange thing happening here cause nobody saying nothing and we still managing to have us a conversation." {the help, kathryn stockett}

"mrs. charlotte phelan's guide to husband-hunting, rule number one:  a pretty, petite girl should accentuate with makeup and good posture.  a tall plain one, with a trust fund." {the help, kathryn stockett}

"'saying thank you, when you really mean it, when you remember what someone done for you...it's so good'" {the help, kathryn stockett}

i was disappointed with the wonderful wizard of oz.  i found the movie to be more much interesting than the book.  my biggest disappointment was with the famous slippers though.  in the book, the slippers were silver.  silver?!?!  what happened to the ruby slippers?!?!  okay, so yes, i know the book came first, but still.  how very disappointing.

"no matter how dreary and gray our homes are, we people of flesh and blood would rather live there than in any other country, be it ever so beautiful.  there is no place like home."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"'all the same,' said the scarecrow, 'i shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"everyone loved her, but her greatest sorrow was that she could find no one to love in return, since all the men were much too stupid and ugly to mate with one so beautiful and wise."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"'you have plenty of courage, i am sure,' answered oz.  'all you need is confidence in yourself.  there is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger.  the true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid, and that kind of courage you have in plenty.'"  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

"all you have to do is knock the heels together three times and command the shoes to carry you wherever you wish to go."  {the wonderful wizard of oz, l. frank baum}

can i go back to college?

the influx of students (and parents...) has brought me to a mix of emotions.  part of me thinks, "get out of my way, you are slowing down my day, and i have no patience for you."  the other part of me thinks, "can i go back to college and be one of them...setting up my dorm...meeting new people...?"  it certainly makes me reminisce my undergraduate days.  oh what treasures those days were!  it is incredible to me that it was about this time seven years ago that i was making my liberty entrance.  wow...just think all of the memories of the last seven years.  love it!

"this time seven years ago..."  this will be likely be in my introduction tomorrow as i welcome a group of thirty students to liberty tomorrow.  i am really excited to be teaching a freshman seminar class this week.  i see it as an opportunity to reconnect with the students outside of my job so that i can be reminded of why i do what i do.  often times in my job, i can feel overwhelmingly irritated with the student population.  not because they are all frustrating, but because the couple that are irritating take up way to much of my time.  i am praying that God allows me to make that initial impression of liberty positive and welcoming.  i am praying that God gives me the words to speak to change hearts, especially those that may feel discouraged already or are already regretting their decision to come to campus.  {liberty university} truly has been an incredible blessing to me over the last seven years.  sometimes i wonder if i would be equally as happy and blessed had i followed my initial desires for college selection.  let's just say liberty and its rules were not my number one pick.

in reading the freshman handbook to prepare for this class tomorrow, i was encouraged and reminded of paul's call to pray for our family, our friends, our church, ourselves:

• that God "may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him" {ephesians 1:17}
• that the "eyes of your understanding [may be] enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His caling" {ephesians 1:18}
• that you may know "what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe" {ephesians 1:19}

good luck, freshmen! be open to what God has in store for you over the next 4+ years!  (yes, some of you will take the 4+ years to finish, but stay strong, you can do it!)

no horsing around

i have been eagerly wanting to plan a trip to next year's {kentucky derby}.  while horse races are fun, my primary goal was to have an excuse to get dressed up and wear big hats.  a few of the girls shared in my excitement.  we could easily make ourselves fit in.  we thought so anyway...until we discovered the ticket prices for grandstand seats.  a trip to the horse track sure isn't a trip to the ball field.

truth be told, i am disappointed we will not be sitting in the grandstands next may.  maybe we can throw our own derby party here though.  this is my friend's attempt at cheering me up:

"one day miranda… we will leave our 2.5 kids back in the hotel with our nanny’s and our husbands will have purchased us the best seats with, of course, tickets to the winners circle after the race! and we will walk in with our big (very expensive) hats and hot (very rich) husbands and enjoy the kentucky derby as it was meant to be enjoyed."

well said, friend!

throwing stones

continuing with the reading list.  i am starting to realize that several of our selected books are centered on slavery and/or the civil rights movement.  i have found them to be interesting reads.  included in this list is uncle tom's cabin by harriet beecher stowe.

"if it were your harry, mother, or your willie, that were going to be torn from you by a brutal trader, to-morrow morning,--if you had seen the man, and heard that the papers were signed and delivered, and you had only from twelve o'clock till morning to make good your escape,--how fast could you walk?  how many miles could you make in those few brief hours, with the darling at your bosom,--the little sleepy head on your shoulder,--the small, soft arms trustingly holding on to your neck?"  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"sublime is the dominion of the mind over the body, that, for a time, can make flesh and nerve impregnable, and string the sinews like steel, so that the weak becomes so mighty."  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"and for a few moments they all wept in company.  and in those tears they all shed together, the high and the lowly, melted away all the heart-burnings and anger of the oppressed.  o, ye who visit the distressed, do ye know that everything your money can buy, given with a cold, averted face, is not worth one honest tear shed in real sympathy?"  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"of course, in a novel, people's hearts break, and they die, and that is the end of it; and in a story this is very convenient.  but in real life we do not die when all that makes life bright dies to us.  there is a most busy and important round of eating, drinking, dressing, walking, visiting, buying, selling, talking, reading, and all that makes up what is commonly called living, yet to be gone through."  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"'i could sooner show twenty what were good to be done, than be one of the twenty to follow my own showing.'" {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

"farewell, beloved child!  the bright, eternal doors have closed after thee; we shall see they sweet face no more.  o, woe for them who watched thy entrance into heaven, when they shall wake and find only the cold gray sky of daily life, and thou gone forever."  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

read this quote and tell me you do not feel convicted...

"if i answer that question, i know you'll be at me with half a dozen others, each one harder than the last; and i'm not going to define my position.  i am one of the sort that lives by throwing stones at other people's glass houses, but i never mean to put up one for them to stone."  {uncles tom's cabin, harriet beecher stowe}

dear hallmark

i have neglected you.  i have neglected our relationship.  i have allowed this to turn into a one-way relationship.  cards coming in, but no cards going out.  i use to be so dearly devoted to you and now it is as though i just have no time for you.  friends send me cards, notes of encouragement.  very few cards have been put in the mailbox with the mail is outgoing - thanks sign being put to use.  i am ashamed.  i am saddened for my dear friends and family whose mailboxes have been left unused by cards from miranda. 

so to those who have been neglected over the last several months:  happy birthday, happy anniversary, thank you, praying for you, i am thankful for you, happy mother's day, happy father's day, happy nurse's day, thank you, congratulations on your pregnancy, happy administrative professional's day, thank you, congratulations on your engagement, congratulations on your graduation, get well, and THANK YOU!

clean out your mailboxes...come august, you may have a card coming your way sometime soon.

it was the best of times...

...it was the worst of times.  a tale of two cities - interesting read.  i wouldn't categorize it under favorites, but i would categorize it as the other extreme either.  at times, it was difficult to continue and fully comprehend.  i have little else to say about it, so here are a few quotes...

"you were always somewhere, and i was always nowhere." {a tale of two cities, charles dickens}

"sadly, sadly, the sun rose; it rose upon no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible of the blight on him, and resigning himself to let it eat him away."  {a tale of two cities, charles dickens}

"troubled as the future was, it was the unknown future, and in its obscurity there was ignorant hope." {a tale of two cities, charles dickens}

"i see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long years to come, i see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out."  {a tale of two cities, charles dickens}

favorite era of reading

"but angry people are not always wise." {pride and prejudice, jane austen}

"i could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine." {pride and prejudice, jane austen}

"vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously.  a person may be proud without being vain.  pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us." {pride and prejudice, jane austen}

"a lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment."  {pride and prejudice, jane austen}

"think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure."  {pride and prejudice, jane austen}

"as moderate as those of the rest of the world, i believe.  i wish as well as every body else to be perfectly happy; but, like every body else it must be in my own way.  greatness will not make me so."  {sense and sensibility, jane austen}

"between them no subject is finished, no communication is even made, till it has been made at least twenty times over."  {sense and sensibility, jane austen}

"don't cry so bitterly, but remember this day, and resolve with all your soul that you will never know another like it.  jo, dear, we all have our temptations, some far greater than yours, and it often takes us all our lives to conquer them." {little women, louisa may alcott}

"i want my daughters to be beautiful, accomplished, and good; to be admired, loved, and respected; to have a happy youth, to be well and wisely married, and to lead useful, pleasant lives, with as little care and sorrow to try them as God sees to send.  to be loved and chosen by a good man is the best and sweetest thing which can happen to a woman, and i sincerely hope my girls may know this beautiful experience.  it is natural to think of it, meg, right to hope and wait for it, and wise to prepare for it, so that when the happy time comes, you may feel ready for the duties and worthy of the joy.  my dear girls, i am ambitious for you, but not to have you make a dash in the world--marry rich men merely because they are rich, or have splendid houses, which are not homes because love is wanting.  money is a needful and precious thing--and, when well used, a noble thing--but i never want you to think it is the first or only prize to strive for.  i'd rather see you poor men's wives, if you were happy, beloved, contented, than queens on thrones, without self-respect and peace."  {little women, louisa may alcott}

"then let me advise you to take up your little burdens again, for though they seem heavy sometimes, they are good for us, and lighten as we learn to carry them."  {little women, louisa may alcott}

"i don't pretend to be wise, but i am observing, and i see a great deal more than you'd imagine.  i'm interested in other people's experiences and inconsistencies, and though i can't explain, i remember and use them for my own benefit."  {little women, louisa may alcott}



"...he did not own it till long afterward; men seldom do, for when women are the advisers, the lords of creation don't take the advice till they have persuaded themselves that it is just what they intended to do; then they act upon it, and, if it succeeds, they give the weaker vessel half the credit of it; if it fails, they generously give her the whole." {little women, louisa may alcott}

sunny san diego

figured i should write about my first trip to the west coast...

clif, jenn, kristi, and myself decided on a trip to visit jonathan since he has been in arizona training.  it was a perfect opportunity for me to make my first trip to the west coast.  of course, i had all of the stereotypical assumptions of the west coast...hot, sunny, beaches everywhere, high fashion, etc.  some proved true, others did not.  my first disappointment came about a week before the trip when we realized the high for our stay was about seventy degrees.  when the temperature was hitting one hundred here at home, seventy seemed to be a big disappointment. 

our plane was scheduled to leave at 5:30am, which meant we had to meet and be ready about 4:30am.  my goal was to be packed by 3, leaving me time for a quick nap.  surprisingly, i was packed just after midnight with the lightest suitcase of the three girls.  this is important to note as i feel as though this generally does not happen. =)

thursday...so, off we go to san deigo!!!  after picking up the rental and checking into our hotel, it was time to explore and try to begin the jet lag recovery program.  we walked a few miles that day exploring.  we ate lunch at {the tin fish}, which came highly recommended by our friend tiffany.  she suggested the fish tacos, but i stuck to the chicken tacos.  still yummy!  san diego was beautiful, clean, and peaceful.  we gave in and took a short nap (comfy, comfy beds!) before getting up to do more exploring.  truth be told...we were having a difficult time transitioning to west coast time but survived a late-ish dinner at {sammy's woodfired pizza}.  it was obvious we weren't as important as the table beside us, but still enjoyed the meal.  quick dip in the hot tub finished the evening.

friday...road trip to LA.  driving along the coast was enjoyable.  pretty view most of the way.  once hitting LA though, there was an obvious change in cleanliness.  straight to hollywood.  parked, walked along the hollywood stars, took our distant picture with the famous hollywood sign, and then hit the road again to pasadena.  another pretty area!  had lunch jenn's and clif's friend, who promises us seat filler tickets for a premier for our next trip to cali.  how fun would that be?!?! after checking out pasadena's city hall, we headed back to LA for a stop at intelligensia for a quick coffee break.  next stop:  back to san diego to meet jonathan.  that evening we enjoyed honest food and drinks at {the lincoln room}.  fun atmosphere.

saturday...{san diego zoo}.  let's be honest, i enjoy going to the zoo, so i was excited for this part of the trip.  well, done, san diego, well done.  my only true disappointment was not being able to see the giant panda.  pandas are favorite.  giraffes, too.  the dancing elephant was precious.  they call her cha-cha because she loves to sway back and forth.  cute, cute.  that evening, we dressed up a bit and had dinner at the {coronado boathouse}.  great view, great food.  our waitor was entertaining and gave us free dessert because he enjoyed seeing people from lynchburg, va.  yum!  also, cindy mccain was sitting two tables from ours.  it was the only celebrity/famous person sighting we really had our entire trip.  after dinner, we had a little stroll on the coronado beach. the sand was so cold at night.

sunday...another fun-filled day.  we started out the morning by walking a few blocks to cheer on the marathon running.  it was early, but fun.  we saw some interesting running costumes.  our next visit was to the {uss midway museum}.  neat museum.  it is crazy to think of actually living and functioning in some of those quarters though.  after the museum, it was time to hit the beach.  beautiful day for laying on the beach.  sleep, read, tan...wonderful combination.  we ventured to {in-n-out burger} for dinner.  we had to see what all the west coast hype was.  it was good, but i would probably stick to {five guys}!  i convinced everyone to get cheesecake from {the cheesecake factory}. red velvet cheesecake is favorite!  we enjoyed our cheesecake sitting at the harbor.

monday...last day in san diego.  packed up the rental car and went to find lunch in san diego's little italy.  so cute!  we next ventured to a harbor tour, which was cold, but fun to see the sights from the boat.  some of our sightings:  many military planes, helicopters, boats, submarines, sea lions, and dolphins.  i was a happy girl seeing the dolphins!  one last adventure to the old town of san diego before the crew dropped me off at the airport for my flight back to lynchburg.  i have flown around the world, but this was my first time flying solo, so i was a bit nervous.  all went well though.  the only thing i really would rather not do over was the red eye flight.  not a fan of the red eye.  the rest of the gang had a later flight back.

now we are all back to the reality of work, but we are brainstorming for possibilities for the next big trip.  maybe disney world over thanksgiving?!?!?

receive mercy and find grace

i received this from a precious friend today in response to a few shared prayer requests:

"you are loved very much...unconditionally...no matter what you think or do...it's been done, God has forgiven you and given you a new life in Him."

thank you for this, dear friend.  though this was not necessarily linked to my prayer requests, i sincerely needed this more than anything.

"let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." {hebrews 4:16}

quote by quote

obviously, i need to get back on track with this blog.  i have not been doing well with it, by any means.  i thought i would catch up to may just by sharing some of the quotes from the books that i have read thus far.  after this, i will hopefully be better about keeping up with life. 

"i had my whole life planned.  i knew exactly where it was taking me." {water for elephants, sara gruen}

"keeping up the appearance of having all your marbles i hard work, but important." {water for elephants, sara gruen}

"people always say that, when you love someone, nothing in the world matters.  but that's not true, is it?  you know, and i know, that when you love someone, everything in the world matters a little bit more." {handle with care, jodi picoult}

"families were never what you wanted them to be.  we all wanted what we couldn't have:  the perfect child, the doting husband, the mother who wouldn't let go.  we live in our grown-up dollhouses completely unaware that, at any moment, a hand might come in and change around everything we'd become accustomed to." {handle with care, jodi picoult}

"i shouldn't have eavesdropped, but sometimes, that's the only way to find out the truth." {handle with care, jodi picoult}

"maybe you expected marriage to be perfect - i guess that's where you and i are different.  see, i thought it would be all about making mistakes, but doing it with someone who's there to remind you what you learned along the way." {handle with care, jodi picoult}

"the first time you share tea with a balit, you are a stranger.  the second time you take tea, you are an honored guest.  the third time you share a cup of tea, you become family." {three cups of tea, greg mortenson}

"what we are trying to do may be just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."  {three cups of tea, greg mortenson}

"it is to the credit of human nature, that, except where its selfishness is brought into play, it loves more readily than it hates.  hatred, by a gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed to love, unless the change be impeded by a continually new irritation of the original feeling of hostility." {the scarlet letter, nathaniel hawthorne}

"women made the best beekeepers, 'cause they have a special ability built into them to love creatures that sting." {the secret life of bees, sue monk kidd}

"'you know, somethings don't matter that much, lily.  like the color of a house.  how big is that in the overall scheme of life?  but lifting a person's heart--now that matters.  the whole problem with people is-'...'the problem is they know what matters, but they don't choose it.'" {the secret life of bees, sue monk kidd}

"'there's a fullness of time for things, lily.  you have to know when to prod and when to be quiet, when to let things take their course.'" {the secret life of bees, sue monk kidd}

a few pages turned

first selection from the list:  gone with the wind.  while i have watched and adored the movie, i have not actually made my way through the 1,024 page novel.  1,024 pages?!?!  choosing to read one of the largest from the list first may or may not prove to be a wise choice, but only time will tell.  it is rather interesting, actually, reading about how different life was.  plus, i enjoy the hints of history.  i'm enjoying it and have found it difficult to put it down at night.  650 pages complete and a few more to go...

a quote from the book that makes me smile, "dancing earrings always attracted a man and gave a girl such a spirited air."  it's really the second portion of that quote that makes me think, "so true!"  there is just something fun and exciting about dangling earrings.  hey, it's the small things in life, right?

a page to turn

i have not turned many pages recently in books that are not associated with work and school.  growing up, i loved to read, so much so that my parents would practically have to take the books away from me and turn out my light at night.  i'm still guilty of this from time to time when i do get caught in an interesting read.  fortunately, i do not have someone turning the lights off on me anymore, so i can read for as long as i want.

a dear friend and roommate, kristi and i browsed several must-read lists and began to develop a list of our own must-reads.  we started with the big goal of 100 book titles, but as we continued browsing, we settled on just 50.  yes, i think 50 is a big enough list for the time being.  for now, we'll call this list chezMK's reading list.  {chezMK referring to the house of miranda and kristi...why yes, we did name our house.  i love it!  our friends are rather fond of it too, though they may tell you otherwise behind our backs.}

1. water for elephants {sara gruen}
2. three cups of tea { greg mortenson and david oliver relin}
3. memoirs of a geisha {arthur golden}
4. handle with care {jodi picoult}
5. outliers – {malcolm gladwell}
6. the devil wears prada {lauren weisberger}
7. the secret life of bees {sue monk kidd}
8. i know why the caged bird sings {maya angelou}
9.  jane eyre {charlotte bronte}
10. the great gatsby {f. scott fitzgerald}
11. catch 22 {joseph heller}
12. the catcher in the rye {j.d. salinger}
13. the complete sherlock holmes {arthur conan doyle}
14. gone with the wind {margaret mitchell}
15. nineteen eighty four {george orwell}
16. the scarlet letter {nathaniel hawthorne}
17. uncle tom’s cabin {harriet beecher stowe}
18. wuthering heights {emily bronte}
19. les miserables {victor hugo}
20. a tale of two cities {charles dickens}
21. a connecticut yankee in king arthur’s {mark twain}
22. the jungle book {rudyard kipling}
23. winnie the pooh {a.a. milne}
24. a journey to the center of the earth {jules verne}
25. anne of green gables (series) {lucy maud montgomery}
26. charlie and the chocolate factory {roald dahl}
27. emma {jane austen}
28. holes {louis sachar}
29. the little prince {antoine de saint-exupery}
30. the secret garden {frances hodgson burnett}
31. fried green tomatoes at the whistle stop cafe {fannie flagg}
32. pride and prejudice {jane austen}
33. sense and sensibility {jane austen}
34. the wind in the willows {kenneth grahame}
35. the princess diaries {meg cabot}
36. the holiday {erica james}
37. a year in provence {peter mayle}
38. a child called ‘it’ {dave pelzer}
39. little women {louisa may alcott}
40. alice’s adventures in wonderland {lewis carroll}
41. the wonderful wizard of oz {l. frank baum}
42. tender is the night {f. scott fitzgerald}
43. a christmas carol {charles dickens}
44. all quiet on the western front {erich maria remarque}
45. the poisonwood bible {barbara kingsolver}
46. invisible man {ralph ellison}
47. pippi longstocking {astrid lindgren}
48. the pilgrim’s progress {john bunyan}
49. choosing to see {mary beth chapman}
50. breakfast at tiffany’s {truman capote}

m is for miranda

today i celebrated twenty-five years of life.  family. friends. laughs. cries. joys. upsets. disappointments. memories. achievements. surprises. failures. adventures. blessings. treasures.

while i was surrounded this weekend with birthday wishes, i reminded myself to cherish these treasures on my path.  has every moment been a treasure?  if only i could answer yes.  what i can say though is that every moment has in some way or another led to or unveiled a treasure. 

i do not have a specific direction or promise for this blog other than i want to have the opportunity to reflect and appreciate the treasures on my path.  i want to be reminded of the moments that were held together.  {He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together - colossians 1:17}