come to me

"i believe in god, but live as if he doesn't exist."

this was the emphasis or theme of this morning's message.  while at first this seems to be an impossible statement, but in further reflection, i can find that in some instances my life does resemble that very implication.  certainly, i believe in god and can say i know god, but ultimately, there are moments in my life that sort of dismiss this notion and live selfishly, making my own decisions and my own paths, acting as if he doesn't, in fact, exist.  how often do we live in this matter?  far too often.

yet, god continues to draw us in.  he continues to desire to know us, no matter how much we seek to fill our lives with other distractions.  and yet, after all that, he says:

{i am the lord your god, i go before you now.  i stand beside you.  i'm all around you.  and though you feel i'm far away, i'm closer than your breath.  i am with you more than you know.  i am the lord your peace.  no evil will conquer you.  steady now your heart and mind.  come into my rest.  and oh, let your faith arise.  and lift up your weary head.  i am with you.  wherever you go.  come to me, i'm all you need.  come to me, i'm everything.  come to me, i'm all you need.  come to me, i'm your everything.  i am your anchor, in the wind and the waves.  and i am your steadfast, so don't be afraid.  though your heart and flesh may fail you, i'm your faithful strength.  and i am with you.  i am the hand to hold, i am the truth, i am the way.  just come to me, come to me.  cause i'm all that you need.}

must stop time

do you ever feel like your life is just passing you by?  where does all the time go?  i received this wall post from a friend:

the truth is, he is right.  we are growing up too fast.
the reality is though, we can't stop time.  so now what?

fortunately, i feel as though i jam-pack my life with lots of goodies.  so maybe we are growing up too fast, but we have lots of memories (and pictures!) to show for it!  and, for the time being, i am okay pretending like i am still 22 and right out of college with my whole life ahead of me...unless you have solutions for stopping time?!?!?!

a pick-up line

what girl can say no to a smooth pick-up line, right?  what if he's six?!?!?

last night i was at the dinner table with this family i know.  we were talking about how much pool memberships cost.

so danny, the six-year old chimes in, "well, i have $2.20." 
me:  "you could take me to the movies, danny."
danny:  "how much does that cost?"
me:  "you can get a ticket at the dollar theater for $1."
danny:  "okay."

end of that conversation.

about ten minutes later into dinner, danny leans against the table and slyly says, "ya know, miranda, i'm free for the rest of the summer..."

well, if that wasn't a pick-up line...

the whole table had an interesting conversation then about how he would need to act on our date.  you know, the usual...opening doors, paying attention to the date, etc.  hilarious.  truly a moment that i just can't do justice on here.  where are the hidden video cameras when you need them!??!

i guess making that wish on that shooting star over disney may pay off after all...

oh DEER

this little post was inspired by my 1am drive from maryland to pennsylvania.

dear americans with lawn ornaments,

your deer lawn ornaments are not cool.  to be honest, none of your lawn ornaments are cool.  from a girl who once totaled a car hitting a deer, your deer lawn ornament is nothing short of a 1am heart attack.  get rid of them!

one thing remains

this weekend i was house sitting at this beautiful home.  while beautiful, it still was a breeding zone of my insecurities, my jealousies, and my fears.

my jealousies because it is a home that seems so far from what i will ever have, yet would love to have.  the walk-in closet, ladies, is to die for.  opening the door to that closet is an experience!  walking through another door though leads you to an oasis including a hot tub surrounded by a privacy wall and plants galore.  it's wonderful. house sitting is a wonderful thing, really.  you get to enjoy the luxuries that you don't own, but others do.

my insecurities and my fears because the house is in the middle of nowhere.  the house is surrounded by windows and more windows.  no curtains.  no blinds.  for those who know me well, know that this combination does not sit well with my fears of being alone, especially being alone in the dark in the middle of nowhere. only to add to this discomfort, i had no reception on my cell.  so basically, i was left to be protected by the dog (the same dog that hides under the bed during a thunderstorm) and the alarm system (because when you're in the middle of nowhere someone is going to be there really quick if the alarm goes off, right?!?!).

in a place where my fears would normally take over, i was continually reminded of god's love and protection.  even in the tiniest moments when i allowed the fear to begin to arise, i immediately turned to god and asked him to redirect my thoughts and replace those fears with his peace.  are you ever amazed by god?  are you ever amazed by god's unfailing love?  i mean, truly amazed.  i was so thankful that in such a vulnerable moment with my fears and my weaknesses, god was ever-present!

aside from my insecurities and my fears, one thing remains...

{higher than the mountains that i face.  stronger than the power of the grave.  constant through the trial and the change.  one thing remains.  one thing remains.  your love never fails.  it never gives up.  it never runs out on me.  on and on and on and on it goes.  it overwhelms and satisfies my soul.  and i never ever have to be afraid.  one thing remains.  in death and in life i'm confident and covered by the power of your great love.  my debt is paid.  there's nothing that can separate my heart from your great love.}

a fairytale wedding

this past weekend i traveled to orlando to celebrate the wedding of tatiana and josh {yes this will sort of be part 2 of the previous post}.  tatiana was my roommate from freshman year...almost eight years ago now.  wish more of the girls could have come, but heather, rach, and i were in high anticipation of this trip.  the invitation implied this was going to be a fancy, fun filled weekend.  and the weekend surely did not disappoint. {read more about the mini-vaca here}

saturday evening, tatiana's parents hosted a beautiful soiree at the famous grand floridian resort.  such a gorgeous property and resort.  the party was held on the small beach area of the resort.  perfect weather, perfect setting, perfect evening.  the desserts were delicious!  the cupcake was my personal favorite.  unfortunately we had too big of a dinner before the party to enjoy all of the food there.

thank you to mr. and mrs. gomez for such an enjoyable evening.  i loved sitting on the beach swing and having some life discussions with my girls while watching the sun go down (and keeping an eye on a certain photographer, perhaps).  perfect!

probably my favorite moment of the wedding weekend was when they walked us over to the marina and had several boats lined up for us full of snacks and cold drinks.  the boats took us on a little water tour around disney.  it was really neat to hear some of the stories from the captain about how disney was developed and some of the inside scoop of disney.  interesting stuff!  for those who know disney, know that they think of every detail.  they even had a miniature light parade on the water.  the boat ride ended with us stationed in front of magic kingdom on the water, where we had a fantastic view of the fireworks show.  for those who know me, know that i love fireworks, so this was a great experience!

finally time for the wedding details.  a true fairy tale wedding.  the wedding ceremony and reception was held at the gaylord palms.  goregous wedding, just beautiful!  the ceremony took place in the middle of the hotel.  with the waterfalls as a backdrop of sound, it was perfect.  it was fun to see all the people watching the evening from their rooms.  i think they wanted to join the party.  upon walking into the ceremony, they presented you with a champagne glass of sparkling cider.  oh, we fancy, huh? and there were fans waiting for us on the seats because, even though it was indoors, it was still rather warm.

after cocktail hour, they took led us to the reception area, also beautiful!  the food was delicious.  cucumber wrap salad, mushroom bisque, sorbet, and filet.  oh, and they had lots of yummy desserts, plus wedding cake.  we may have sampled all the desserts.  of course, we were not permitted to eat until we cleansed our hands with the warm, lemony washcloths that they came around with.  i am not sure what the secret is, but it was an instant hand softening treatment.

congratulations josh and tatiana.  thank you for a beautiful, enjoyable weekend.  i was thrilled to celebrate with you both.  blessings to you!!

disney

this past weekend i traveled to orlando to celebrate the wedding of tatiana and josh.  tatiana was my roommate from freshman year...almost eight years ago now.  wish more of the girls could have come, but heather, rach, and i were in high anticipation of this trip.  the invitation implied this was going to be a fancy, fun filled weekend.  and the weekend surely did not disappoint. {more about the wedding in the next post}

the girls and i decided we would make a little mini-vaca of the weekend and go to disney for a day.  this deal was sealed when i found out that my sister's family would be traveling to disney that week, too.  surprise my nephews at the most magical place on earth?  don't mind if i do.  i was psyched about sharing this moment with my nephews.  unfortunately, devyn ended up in the hospital that day (he's doing much better now!), so they didn't make it to disney the day we were to meet.  i was disappointed all day, but kept reminding myself that devyn was okay and that was what was important.  the girls and i ended up having a great day at the park and even managed to survive with no sunburn thanks to our 60spf (christen, you would be so proud of us!).  stanley came along, too, of course!  we checked out the progress on the new fantasyland production.  should be fun!!

 rach and i joined the dance party.

though i didn't get to surprise them at disney, i did get to go join my family for breakfast at their hotel.