Kristen after denist

I went to the dentist.

The Twin Song

I miss my twin sister. The day before I left for California we recorded this improv song. I took this video that I filmed all over Europe and made it into a movie that could make any grown man cry....or just me.

This is Carly's and I favorite thing to do. Just sit around and sing while she plays guitar.

Love ya twin.....and also Lauren (big sis)...and family in general...and everyone else...that I know!

In the spirit of missing people

I found this amazing picture from my teammates wedding. Here we have an Eastern Green sandwich with Jon, Megan the bride and Harry.
And in the spirit of missing everyone terribly, I decided to upload a video of the good times. LOve you guys!

My Little Bro

Look how handsome my little bro is

Eat your hearts out teenie-boppers!

I watch this SNL clip and thought of him...because his name is Thomas.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/102971/saturday-night-live-new-secretary

Sittin' on the Couch

I found this e-mail that I sent to my self a few months ago.

April 9, 2009

If love is in the air, I’m breathing in deep.

I overheard this awesome one-sided conversation of a girl on a phone in Starbucks

“Hey!”

“What? I sound like a dude?”

“Thanks jerk!”

“Did you see that I have deleted you as a friend on facebook?”

“Well, I did!”

“Because you deleted everything that I write on your wall.”

“What do you mean I’m a Negative Nancy?”

Communication has changed since I graduated high school. I remember spending tons of money and time sending out invitation and now all I have to do is create a facebook group. Wow! Facebook has made me a coward when it comes to communication. I barely have to make an effort.

I’m a girl who is sitting alone in a coffee shop smiling completely at ease with the dismal future drawing closer . Some people may call it ignorance. I call it trust.

Bear Attack

Last night I hardly got any sleep. I kept rolling around and thinking about this one thing....this one ultra creepy thing. I kept thinking out scenario of how I could efffectively scare my friends by dressing up in a bear costume and sneaking up on people. Not like a life-like bear, just your regular teddy bear. For an hour and a half I just sat there wanting to stop but I couldn't. How weird is that?

Brave Heart

Need a reason to throw off your constraints? I know I do.

 

"Given the proper combination of elements, dreams become spewing blowtorches of fuel, of oxygen and fire. The flame is constant and hot, paralyzing even in the warmth of its seduction. They have the power to ruin lives. Or to make a life unforgettably and without measure, extraordinary”

-Tammy Dooley author of the blog “Solo Road Trip”

 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” — 1994 Inaugural Speech of Nelson Mandela

 

 

“Gonna change the world someday but you wonder where to start. Filling up the vacant spaces just being who you are. I know you’ve got it in you. There is nothing that you can’t do. Step out it’s a wide wide world. Don’t back down little girl”

-The Daylights

 

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.” –Mary Anne Radmacher

Possibilities

The great philosopher Brittney Spears once said, “I’m not a girl, not yet a women.”

 

So I am a woman…for obvious reasons.

 

I’m old enough to vote

Check (although I haven’t)

 

I’m on my own

Check(-ish)

 

I have a job

Check

 

I make adult decisions

Check(-ish)

 

Post-grad and all, I’ve been introduced to the harsh world of reality with responsibility and possibility. I like to plan things out. Some people may not think of me as a planner, but I am constantly thinking of things like what will I do, how much will that cost, what do I need, how am I going to get it, how can I make this work. The questions and lists keep piling up until I just think of casting my dreams to the side, which leads me to avoid decision-making. I forget to take things a day at a time and find myself avoiding the long road ahead.

 

And I was thinking maybe the key to being a good adult …is to be more like a child. I know, I know, I’m not crazy. I’m not thinking of moving back in with my parents to relive the glory days or what-not but we can all learn something from children. They don’t hold back from dreaming or trusting. They are completely themselves. The world is full of possibilities and potential. They just dive right into the sea of life without any fear.

 

I know that this fear of failure is holding me back but I’ve just decided that I’m not going to let that happen.

 

No, I’m not going to read a self help book or 10 Steps to Success, but I have to acknowledge that fear of failure is a lack of faith and will only cause more failure. I don’t want to look back on my time here in California and think that I wasted any time lollygagging around where there is life and experiences to be had, potential to be met, and lessons to be learned. So I am going to go on towards Jesus, trusting that He has the best in store for me and He never fails. As long as I am regularly exposed to His radical love, I will be in the right place.

 

Won’t you join me in this race by saying no to fear and yes to dreams?

 

Mucho amour!

 

 

“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” Phil 1:6

P.S. I typed "endless possibilities" into the google image search engine and this is an image that showed up.

The "Cultivated" Laugh

So I have come to the realization that laughing can be even more satisfying when you stick your tongue out while you do it. It just oozes sophistication. My Jelly Belly buddies (the crew) have helped me to realize this. It also kinda helps if you tilt your head back as well. So next time you are in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, stick your tongue out and embrace a well-bred, refined and cosmopolitan level of snickering. Trust me....I live in California.

I am takin' back to the old days when I hear this song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPSEg_4kIo8

before things like future plans, bills, and responsibility. It makes me laugh with my tongue out.

Good to Me

Diggin' this song at the moment called "Good to Me"

This guy does this song justice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIvqwvgfoE0 

lyrics:

I cry out

For Your hand of mercy to heal me
I am weak
I need Your love to free me
Oh Lord,  my rock
My strength in weakness
Come rescue me,  oh Lord

You are my hope
Your promise never fails me
And my desire
Is to follow You forever

For You are good, for You are good
For You are good to me

A Whole New World

Three months out of college and I'm already getting antsy about leaving my student days behind me. Seventeen years of schooling really ingrains learning into your system. I have just started taking TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) classes online, so I can have the skills and tools to teach English overseas to whoever is interested. GO MOTHER TONGUE! Being a student again is fun! I have a tutor and everything. Go school!

Every Little Girls' Worst Nightmare

So after spending sometime at the mall telling people about religious suckers ( take the quiz http://religioussucker.com/ ) I retreated to a nearby retail store called Ross. I went to the dress section and as I was looking for cute summer dress, I came upon a wedding dress, but this wasn't any wedding dress, no, it was the wedding dress that I had dreamed of since I was a little girl and there it was on a sale in a retail store. Don't worry, I'm not a crazy. I am aware that I am single and far from holy matrimony, but this was the dress of my wildest dreams. So of course I took it to the dressing room to try that bad boy on. I had a little trouble getting the dress over my shoulders because there was no zipper up the side and I had to force the dress over my shoulders. Everything fit beautifully. As I looked at myself in the mirror my heart leaped for joy for the special day that I would actually get to wear a wedding dress down an isle.

 As I came back to reality, I realized that I had to hurry up and purchase my other clothes before my friends came to pick me up. As I attempted to pull the dress over my shoulders, the dress would not budge. I tried again and again before realizing that if I pulled any harder I would ripe the delicate fabric. I started t freak out. I was freakin' trapped in the dress of my dreams. The more I squirmed the tighter the dress got. The room started to get smaller and I started to sweat. I contemeplated getting that dress off by what ever means necessary, but couldn't force myself to tear the beautiful fabric. I had gotten myself into a mess that I could not get myself out of...alone. I decided to enlist the help of an outsider; I stepped outside my dressing and found the first available lady. I invited her back into my dressing room and she forcefully pulled the dress over my head. Embarassed and a little claustrophobic I emerged from that dress severely jaded.

What does that mean when a girl finds her dream wedding dress and gets trapped in it. Lesson learned; don't try on a wedding dress when you aren't getting married....fair enough.

I know it's embarrassing, but my embarrassment could be someone else's treasure..... 

Jesus Culture

 

I went to this conference in Redding, California called Jesus Culture and I'm featured in the Redding online newspaper under the photos. Check me out  praying for this guy!

http://www.redding.com/news/2009/aug/04/by-faith/

Eyebrow Threading

Hey friends! I have been in kind of a dry spell of blogging so I thought that I would talk about some randomness that is my life.

Has anybody ever had their eyebrows threaded? Eyebrow threading is depilation technique that originated in India and has in recent years made its way over to the US. It involves twisting a piece of thread into a double strand. The strand is used to pick up a line of hair and then remove it, creating a very clean, precise hairline. Eyebrow threading is the technique  preferred by Indian movie stars, who are often distinguished by their crisp brow lines. The result is pure Bollywood awesomeness with a beautifully shaped brow. The process of getting this finely shaped eyebrow is shear torture and agony. It feels like the lady is riping my flesh off.

I've only had this technique done a handful of times, but everytime I go, I sit there in the chair in pain thinking to myself "why, why oh why did I sign up for this knowing that I would have to endure this misery in order to have flashy eyebrows." Everytime I am there in that seat, I want to cry out "UNCLE!" But I signed up for the pain knowing that the result would be worth the pain. And oddly enough this reminds me of a sacrifice of a different kind, with a greater reward. Jesus willingly went to the cross, enduring unimaginable pain and humiliation just so we could have a chance at being in relationship with God. Jesus willing took that pain and shook the foundation of the world. 

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

Whoa.

Risk for Love

 

We risk ourselves for the things that we love. Lately I have been feeling like a regular Indiana Jones. I have a tendency to forget things. Most recently I have been forgetting my keys in Ruby’s car and find myself with a need to lock the door to the apartment but unable to lock the door from the outside without a key. My mission was to make it to the Family Film Festival (a festival Remnant supports that makes it possible for families to watch free children’s movies during the week days), but I could not leave the apartment unlocked all day long. But I organized a plan to lock the apartment and leave for the Family Film Festival. You see Ruby and I live on the second floor and if I could just find the courage to step over our railing on our back porch and jump down, I could go and play with kids all afternoon. I prepared for the worst and I expected the best. I packed a snack thinking that if I hurt myself on the way down I would at least have something to take my focus off the pain. I put a Band-Aid in my bag thinking that one would be enough. I texted my friends to let them know the plan in case anything should go a rye. I prayed for the best.

 

Looking over the edge, I contemplated chickening-out but did not want to face the alternative of missing the Film Festival or leaving the apartment vulnerable to theft. Jumping was my only courageous option. I stepped over the railing, kicked my shoes down below into the shrubbery. I figured if I could somehow shimmy down the railing, I could swing to the railing of my neighbor’s porch below. I let my feet go. As I was hanging there off my railing, in plain sight of my neighbors, I thought to myself “Once again Kristen, you did not think this one through.” At this point it was too late to turn around. I did not have the arm strength to pull myself up and over the railing. My only choice was to let the wooden railing slide through my fingers until I was low enough to stand on the porch railing below me. My feet caught the railing and I jumped down into the safety of a flowerbed.

 

But we risk it all for the things we love. Am I right?  I love the Family Film Festival. I get to meet tons of kids and parents, paint faces, play corn hole, and spread the word about the new church that meets in the movie theater.

 

Well jumping from a balcony may not be much but it was the riskiest thing that I have done since I up and moved to California.

 

I also had to do the same maneuver the week after that when I forgot my keys again. At least that time I had a spotter.  

Cheers to safety!