The Beauty of Seeing Things Through

Loving a person just the way they are, it's no small thing
It takes some time to see things through
Sometimes things change, sometimes we're waiting
We need grace either way

Hold on to me
I'll hold on to you
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through

There's a lot of pain in reaching out and trying
It's a vulnerable place to be
Love and pride can't occupy the same spaces baby
Only one makes you free

Hold on to me
I'll hold on to you
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through

If we go looking for offense
We're going to find it
If we go looking for real love
We're going to find it

So this is a song by a guy named Gordon Kennedy and a gal named Sara Groves. I'd heard of Sara before but not enough to recognize any of her stuff and this cd is a relatively new one to my collection. I haven't decided if I like her or not yet. The jury is still out. But some of her lyrics make me think.

We talked about reconciliation to God in Sunday school this past week. And this song made me think of that. I know she's talking about human relationships here, but it made me think about my relationship with Him. And how He's always willing to wait for me, love on me, and see things through with me. Now that's a lovely thought. The part about love and pride not being able to occupy the same place gets me. So does the being vulnerable part.

I'd write more, but I've gotta get back to work. Story of my life. Wink wink...

Love Takes Time...And Risks

I've been working like a fiend lately with my event. Five days and counting. April 2nd at around 5pm I'll be exhausted but so thrilled it's all over. Don't get me wrong, fun will be had Sunday. My sister is coming in and I'm chomping at the bit to see her. She's even coming to the Ring!! Which is big for me. I want her to meet the ones I love here in Baton Rouge, and have her see why its my home now. I just want her to fall in love with all of them like I did. Although I gotta admit, it took time for me to love being here.

People say that good things take time, but I'm more of a follow my heart, take a leap of faith and see what happens kind of gal. Although to be perfectly honest, I'd probably be a much wiser woman if I took the time to smell the roses. But I've never been a big fan of roses...

Two Steppin' in My Living Room

Alright, LSU won. The boys are in the final four. The game was yesterday. UT vs. LSU. Ok, having been born in Bryan, Texas, I'm genetically predisposed to be an Aggie fan. Which means UT is the enemy. However, when a Texas team plays anybody else, its my duty, as is every other Texans, to root for the Texan team. Longhorns or not, they are from Texas.

On my way to watch the game I was in the grocery store picking up some munchies. My sister called and I asked her who she was rooting for with the game. There was a moment of silence and then she said, "Uh, hello? Texas! And I can't believe you'd even suggest otherwise." So I very cowardly tried to cop out saying, "Well, I do live in Louisiana and a lot of the people I know and love went to LSU." But it was no use, she said my citizenship to Texas would be revoked if I cheered for LSU. And LSU won. It wasn't pretty. But they won. And I secretly cheered. (Don't tell my family.)

Friends have so graciously reminded me that I'm in Louisiana and should act as such. I've got a Louisiana license, voter registration card, even my license plate says Louisiana. But I'm a Texan through and through. I don't think I'm obnoxious about it. Believe me, I've met "those" Texans before. And I could see how people might get the wrong impression. But I'm nice, I'm fun, I just happen to be from Texas. I think it's in my favor that I'm a Texan. Speaking of, I met a fellow Texan today in Sunday School. Yes, my face lit up when I asked him where he was from and he said Texas. Its just ingrained in all of us. I don't know how to explain it. And yes, my dearest and closest friends just love to rib me about the Texan thing. But I think I take it in stride. I love them even more for recognizing that I come from a better state than they do...

After church, watching TV, there was a Texan horse rancher getting a remake of his home for his new family. Horse stuff was everywhere. Very much the stereotypical Texan cowboy. Stubborn, set in his ways, yet knows how to treat his lady. They showed him and his whole family riding. It made me think of riding in the sand dunes behind our house in Monahans when I was a whole lot younger. Ah, good times. It's been quite a while since I've spent a good amount of time on a horse. Gosh, the last time must have been my junior year in college. I spent a month in Mexico and we all went riding. Good times. There's just something great about being on a horse in the middle of nowhere. Somehow I feel closer to God when I'm on a horse, the wind blowing my hair, trying to race the sunset. I can't explain it very well.

Yeah, yeah, so I like riding. I also like two stepping. But usually only in my living room. Dancing in public ain't my cup of tea. And I don't even two step very well. I'm not even sure these kids here in Louisiana know what two steppin' is. So I guess in some aspects I'm a stereotypical Texan. My mom says when I get pregnant I've got to drive the three hours to the border so our children are born Texans. Hmm. I hope my husband has a sense of humor...

"Go Texan"

So I'm pooped. Next Sunday is my big event for my job. It's a jazz brunch with a silent auction. Check it out if you want, if not, I'm perfectly fine with it. I'm numb when it comes to talking about it anymore. I guess this is what a bride feels like. Work really hard for this event that only lasts a few hours and then want it to be finished as soon as possible because all I can think about is it being over. I know I need rest and I'm not gonna get it till after April 2. There's just always something going on.

But something did make me grin today. I just got home and realized that I'd not looked at a thank you gift I'd gotten a few weeks back. (I mean seriously, who doesn't have time for presents?!) A friend of mine works with college students at West Texas A and M. She brought a group of them for a spring break mission trip to NO. They came to the Ring and I played hostess. It really was no trouble at all, I especially love getting to hang out with some of my own kind. They were young and full of energy and made me feel old, but I laughed a lot and had a great time with them. Anyways, she gave me a pale pink bag full of girly stuff. It was lip balm and lotion. They were great as is, but what made them even better was the fact that on the back of it was a brand of Texas saying "Go Texan."

I can actually feel you shaking your head...

Two Elles and An I

This is the continuation of the previous post about Allison Miller. This morning I came into my office, and my coworker gave me one of my messages. A woman named Anita Miller has a son named Alan who wants to volunteer for my event. Work gets crazy, I've got meetings and running around to do, so don't end up calling her until late this afternoon.

I call her and give her the event and venue information. Towards the end of the conversation she says, "how do you spell your name?" I tell her, and she says, "Oh, my daughter's name is spelled the same way." I say, "Ms. Anita, was your daughter in a wreck a few days ago?" Yes, she was. I then ask if she was alright. Ms. Anita said she was fine and a guy just clipped the back of her bumper. It was her first wreck and scared her, but she is fine.

God was very cool in letting me know that this other Allison was alright. This morning I'd been checking police reports and trying to find out any information about her. Turns out the answer was waiting for me on a little pink post it on my desk the whole time. It just took me a few hours to get to it. Kind of makes me wonder what else has been sitting right in front of my face the whole time and is only waiting on me.

By the way, my grandmother's name was Anita. Anita Miller.

The Other Allison Miller

"Hey Allison, did you get in a wreck on Burbank close to Bluebonnet? I took a call the other night for an Allison Miller and realized after I got off the phone, it might have been you?"

This email came from one of my friends who is one of Baton Rouge's Finest. It was sitting in my inbox waiting for me when I got home tonight. I went a friend's birthday dinner, (Happy 24th Lana!), and got home around 10pm. Which for me is late. Yeah, yeah, I'm old.

No, I wasn't in a wreck. It was a different Allison Miller and I hope she's alright. I've heard of another Allison Miller who was in Tiger Band a few years back. But I'm safe and sound. In fact, I'm doing great. God's been really showing off in my life lately. And not just my life, He's been doing it in the lives of the ones I love as well.

My job is stressful, my family is crazy, my church makes me smile, and my community makes me blissfully happy to be a part of it. God's just really been, well, a big Show Off. And I'm truly loving every minute of it. Yes, drama is everywhere and I've no idea where God is going with everything in my life. Surprisingly, I'm fine with it. In fact, I'm more than fine with it, I'm asking Him to keep doing His thing in the lives of my friends and family. All I did was give Him free reign. It just took me 24 years, 240 days to do it.

I love caring for my friends and family, but He does such a better job of it than I do!

The Old Man and the C

Tonight's message was a little loving care and attention from God. At least, that's how I heard it. The topic was God's faithfulness and how He fulfills His promises to us, encouraging Him to trust Him even more with our lives.

Josh is going through the Bible in the span of a few weeks, ending the week of Easter. I look at it as kind of a Cliffs notes version of the Bible. He's pretty much hitting the highlights. It's good stuff. Tonight, Abraham was mentioned. Long story short, God promised him that he'd be the father of a nation. And not just any promise. God makes a covenant with him. A covenant is a binding promise, as in cut me in half if I break my promise, kind of promise. Time goes by. Now he's 99 years old. God comes around and CONFIRMS to him again that he's going to be the father of many. This encounter with God is so life-changing that He changes the name of Abram to Abraham. At the ripe old age of 100, a strapping baby boy is born to Abraham and Sarah. A nation is begun.

The long and short of it is that God is faithful in my life. He's promised me stuff and followed through with it. With every fulfilled promise He's encouraging me to trust Him more and more. He wants to show off in my life and He'll always come to my rescue.

There were a lot of things in the sermon tonight that sent me weak-kneed in thankfulness of Him still being with me through the decisions I'm having to make these days. I wish I'd had a tissue though, snot and tears were running down my face, but sometimes meeting with the God of the universe does that to me. Especially when He's just taken about 40 minutes of telling me to trust Him, He's going to wow me if I let Him. What's a little snot when you're in the presence of Him?!

One of the things that jumped out at me was towards the end of the message. Time has gone by, the Israelites are leaving Egypt, following Moses across the Red Sea. Now the Israelites have a choice. They can trust a God who has been fulfilling the promises He made to their forefather or they can choose death by the hands of the Egyptians. Walk into a sea that is now two walls of water with a strip of land leading to freedom and even more fulfillment of God's promise. Or they can try and go back to the land that they know. That same land that has sent its army to come and get them back. It's their call. The land they know or the unknown, an unknown that begins with a divided sea, a leader who is not the world's best public speaker, and a God who says Trust Me.

There's nothing normal about what lies ahead of them. What they know is behind them, waiting for their return. It's their choice.

Man, I can relate.

Why My God Reigns

I am basking in His awesomeness.

So I've been open with my family and friends, yes this includes you, about my options to move or not to move. And trying to discern God's voice in this process. For those of you who know I'm not going anywhere, crack jokes to help me lighten up, think moving might be a good idea for me, or hate the thought of me leaving, I applaud your openness and honesty with me. I love you too.

Monday afternoon I was talking to my mother. She had just said she was mailing me stamps to mail out my resumes. I replied, Mom, I'm praying about this. And I'd really appreciate it if God tells me to stay put that you don't pitch a fit. She said, well, you can come back to Texas and find a church here. You could meet somebody. I just want some companionship for you.

I'm beginning to understand its hard for my parents for me to be 25 (almost, gulp) and unmarried. Sure I would like romantic companionship but in His time, not mine or my parents. I'm a single girl living in a big city that has gone through a major disaster. In their eyes, I'm alone here. It would comfort them if I was in Texas. Not even McCamey where they live, just Texas. My mother's big selling point is that I could find a church to serve there and a community that I can be a part of. The kicker is that I have that here, the only difference being that its not in Texas.

Yesterday afternoon I was talking to my sister about my mom advising me to move. She then started campaigning for me to move to Florida. I replied, you know, I'd really like for my family to be thrilled that I'm extremely happy here. I'd like you and mom and dad to support me and just leave it at that. I'm loved here, I love being here. No, I'm not married. But I'm loving on the people that God has brought into my life. I'm part of a church that wants me here just as much as I want to be here. As for a man in my life, I know I'm going to be a wife. He just hasn't told me when, and I'm ok with Him keeping His surprises up His sleeve. I might be a control freak, but I do love when He wows me. Sometimes He tells me what the finished product is going to be, and I'm always amazed at how He makes it happen. But He's never normal in the way He does things and I love that about Him.

Ok, enough backstory. This morning, I'm awake in bed saying good morning to Him and just thanking Him for everything He's doing. Lately my quiet time, which is more often me asking what's going on than anything else, has turned into all I can do is just praise Him and thank Him for the many great things He's doing in the lives of the people I care about.

Then He tells me to open up His word. Ok, God, no problem. Whatdya wanna tell me? I open it up and its Jeremiah 42. My eyes land on verse 4.

4"I have heard you," replied Jeremiah the prophet. "I will certainly pray to the LORD your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the LORD says and will keep nothing back from you." 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us. 6 Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God."

(At this point I'm like ok, what are you telling me? How does this apply in my life? He says, zip it and keep reading, so I do.)

7 Ten days later the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. 8 So he called together Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him and all the people from the least to the greatest. 9 He said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition, says: 10 'If you stay in this land, I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not uproot you, for I am grieved over the disaster I have inflicted on you. 11 Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. Do not be afraid of him, declares the LORD, for I am with you and will save you and deliver you from his hands. 12 I will show you compassion so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your land.'

13 "However, if you say, 'We will not stay in this land,' and so disobey the LORD your God, 14 and if you say, 'No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,' 15 then hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'If you are determined to go to Egypt and you do go to settle there, 16 then the sword you fear will overtake you there, and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt, and there you will die.

At this point I had to stop for a second for a tissue cuz my eyes were teary. I can't help it sometimes. He's just so...so....well, He's just so tender with my heart. So after tearing up in thankfulness of how He cares for me and is still very much involved in my life, I sat and pondered what He'd just told me. Here's what I walked away with. He's letting me choose. I can stay here where I'm at and He will plant me even more so than He already has. Or if I'm determined to go back to the land of my fathers, Texas, I can go. But it's my choice.

Just wanted you to know. (Sorry blogliners the typo was driving me crazy!)

A Brief History of Me

Tah-dah! It's my 100th post! So I said it would be about Texas. Therefore, it will be about Texas. But the Texas I know and my experiences of it. No, I've never gotten a speeding ticket there, nor have I driven from El Paso to the Louisiana border in one shot. But I've lived, laughed, and loved there. I'm proud to be from Texas and will always be. Yesterday on the radio I heard the song "God Blessed Texas." It's not really talking about the state. Well, it is, but in the way that Texas is a bit of heaven because of the women who live there, not so much the quality of the land or our educational system or anything that's really important in the grand scheme of things. It's a silly song, but it makes me grin.

Anyways, so to show you a bit of why I love Texas, you need to know my roots. Since I'm a big nerd, I'm going to do a timeline. Oh yeah, I'm cool.

July 24, 1981-Born in Bryan, Texas. Home of Texas A and M. Gig 'em Aggies!

November 12, 1984-My mother marries my stepfather in Texas. My older sister is 7, I'm 3, and Leanne is 2. We then move to Tuttle, Oklahoma where my sisters and I are enrolled in Marantha Christian Academy.

February 23, 1989-I give my heart and life to Jesus. We get along great.

Childhood ensues. We are brought up in a southern baptist church, private Christian school, and are in church every time the doors are open. We move back to Texas when I'm eleven or twelve.

We move to Monahans, Texas. My father teaches me to be an archer. He takes me on a few hunts. I compete in archery competitions. I love my bow, while my Leanne prefers shooting firearms as opposed to a bow. My dad also is my youth group leader for a while and teaches us the True Love Waits program.

Then we move to Odessa, Texas. We are there for seven months.

Then Big Spring, Texas. My sister and I become active with a youth group led by John and Wilma Doll. They are lovely.

August 1997-Big Spring, Texas. Parents enroll my sister and I into public school for the first time. Talk about culture shock. But it was a small school in Ackerly, Texas. 1A. Sands High School, home of the Mustangs, we played six man football and my father was a referee. My sister was a cheerleader, I was the smart one who helped you with your homework. Usually this turned into discussions of why she might or might not like you and could I help you get a date with her. High school. Sheesh.

August 1998-We are transferred to Forsan High School. Home of the Buffaloes. A 2A high school. I become Student Council President which doesn't help my coolness factor in high school. Sister is still a cheerleader and gets more beautiful as the days go by. My chemistry professor talks about going to college and getting a chemistry degree. I scoff and say there's no way I'm getting a chemistry degree. (Oh yeah, God loves doing that with me.)

May 2000-I graduate high school. I was one of 49 students, which was the largest class in school history. I graduated with honors and in the top 10% of my class. In the state of Texas, if you graduate in the top 10% you are guaranteed admission into any university in Texas. (Here was my chance to go to Texas A and M!)

Summer of 2000-Pray about going to a big university knowing that my priority is a Christian school, just not sure which one I'm supposed to go to. Receive my acceptance letter from Texas A and M.

Summer of 2000-Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas offers me a scholarship because of my ACT scores. They have a Presbyterian affiliation and 702 students.

August 2000-Start my freshman year at Schreiner. Come in as a chemistry major because my advisor said they needed science majors. I wasn't passionate about any of the majors, so I said why not and began the program. Turns out they are loosely religious and I consider this my bleak period of my walk with Him. There are few opportunities for Christian fellowship there.

Fall 2003-Spend my last semester of college in London. It had nothing to do with my degree plan, but Schreiner let my scholarship money cover it. Yay free trip to London! Visited Ireland and Scotland. I definitely encourage you to see the world. It gets smaller the more you see of it.

December 7, 2003-Graduate from Schreiner University. Yes, with a chemistry degree.

December 2003-Present. Follow the free rent and free food to my parent's home in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Am told to jump in by God to a ministry I know little about. Parents disagree with my commitment and the decisions I make in reference to the Ring. Folks move back to Texas and I stay here. The Ring eventually becomes a church. The idea that I was brought here for this still bounces around in my head.

And that's my history. As for my future, I've got no idea. But He does, and I'm ok with it. In fact, I'm wondering where He's going with all this. Not in a freak out I've gotta know now way. More of a zen, I'm calm and accepting with wherever He wants to lead me way. My life has been amazing so far. I look forward to what He's going to do next.

The Beginning of the End

Every story has a beginning. That was said tonight during the sermon. Where I'm at in my story, I would really like an end. It doesn't have to be a happy ending, right now I'm at the point to where I just need an end. I stopped believing in fairy tales when I began second guessing my heart. And that began slowly a few months ago and has now gotten me to the point where I don't trust my feelings anymore. They are fickle things, my feelings.

It looks like my time is up here at the Ring. I've served as much as I'm supposed to and it's time to move on. At least that is what my circumstances are telling me. As is my family. My family would like me back in Texas. Texas is safe. It's known. It appeals to me and my sense of control. I can go back there. I'd have friends, family, I could find a church I could "plug myself into."

Taking care of myself is nothing new. I've had lots of practice. My father hunts oil for a living so we moved around a lot when I was a kid. But for the most part it was always Texas. The longest place I've stayed at was three years. It was college, and even then I spent six months of that abroad in London. I can get by, I can even thrive. Me and God, we're in this together. He tells me where to go, I follow. Just me and Him, it's what I'm used to.

This will be attempt number four, maybe even five, of something trying to take me from the Ring in the span of three months. My heart is always a factor in the coercion to go. It's either my attachment to my family, or the fact that I can serve God anywhere, or even circumstances telling me that I've overstayed my welcome. There are plenty of reasons to not stay here. The one that has kept me here is that I fully believe God has me here for a reason. And yet with all the unknown swirling around me, I'm beginning to think that I've done what He has brought me here to do.

I don't know if Satan is involved in this. Unfortunately, I'm the problem most of the time. While I'd love to lay all the blame on him, I know I'm responsible. But here's the part that is throwing me. How do I know if I've completely missed the boat here? What if God's been trying to get my attention for months and I've just been so dad gummed stubborn that I just stomped my foot, tossed my curls and said, You told me to jump right in! So is He now using my family to tell me that it's time to move on?

I'm treading carefully here. I'm not a rash decision kind of girl. On the plus side, I'd still write on my blog, Texas has computers there too. Ha ha.

Something's Gotta Give

My mother called me this morning. She's a teacher and her spring break is coming up this week. She's very excited because they are going to go see my sister Wednesday. My sister got a new chandelier that she wants my dad to hang. I guess it'll be business and pleasure.

I am currently being slammed a dose of homesickness. Not the aw, I miss my family homesickness. This is the my mom asking me when I'm going to start packing up kind. On the phone this morning she said she refuses to come to Louisiana. She loves me but doesn't like LA. So I said, well I do miss Texas. And then she got really excited and asked when I was moving back.

I need to pray about it some more. I've liked, wait, dare I say it? I've loved being here. Still do, but I want to do other things in my life besides working all the time. I love my job. But I don't want it to be the reason I'm here. God has me here for a reason, but I'm getting the feeling that my time is just about up.

I'm also learning as I get older that I can't trust my "feelings." Like I said, I need to pray about it some more. God's pretty good at telling me to stay or go. He told me to stay at Parkview and the Ring and that was almost three years ago! So I'm confident He'll tell me where to go from here.

A Longhorn in the Mail

I got a Texas longhorn in the mail today. My sister, who lives in Florida, sent it to me. It's a paper longhorn in case you were wondering. He's a very pretty longhorn. He's got a little love letter to me on it.

My sister sent it to me because of last week and she can't "bear to see me down." Which might make her the best sister in the world. Yes, I'm her older sister and I'm supposed to take care of her, but sometimes she surprises me even though I know her like the back of my hand.

Leanne and I have always been close. We don't look alike, but we're Irish twins. Which just means that we were born less than a year apart. Eleven months and two weeks actually. Every year during those two weeks, she always ALWAYS reminds me that we are the same age.

Just as I know her, she knows me. She always encourages me to take time for myself and not care so much for others. She knows I nurture people. She's my biggest fan, my confidante, my best friend. She's my sister. She can tell when I've run myself ragged by the sound of my voice. She can cry with me when I'm heart-broken and laugh with me when I'm being goofy. She knows my dreams and knows the God who can turn them into reality. She lifts me up to Him in prayer. Man, you should hear her pray. She can pray down heaven. Even when we were little girls, she could always stir my soul with the way she could pray. I'm more of a chatter when it comes to God. Hi God, here are the facts. Fix it however you want to. I'll be down here waiting on You.

But that child can bring it prayer wise. It makes my heart swell with sisterly pride. Knowing full well I had nothing to do with her personal relationship with God. But it's still very cool to watch her walk with Him.

Yes, I Am a Girl

This is my 96th post on this blog. My 100th post will be about Texas. Just thought I'd warn you. Yes, I will expound on why just being from Texas is a blessing and why it makes me better than you. Tee hee hee, just kidding. The biggest complaint I hear from people about Texans is that they always think they are better than everybody. More on that later. I have seriously missed Texas lately so I'm going into withdrawal a wee bit.

When I started writing on this blog I didn't think I'd still be writing in it months later. Or that I'd have anything worth writing about to be entirely truthful. I didn't used to be much of a talker and now I find that I chatter more than I need to.

I just watched the Office. Not the UK version, the American one. It's funny. But I'll always hold a special place in my heart for the UK one. It's so funny that you get embarrassed for the whole cast of characters as you're watching it. But it's still hilarious. And right now I'm watching Tommy Boy. It's at the part where they are fighting outside the prehistoric forest and Tommy tells Richard, "If I wanted a kiss, I'd have called your mother." And then Richard calmly smacks him in the face with a two by four. Agh, so funny. This movie never gets old for me. And yet I don't own it. Weird. Probably cuz I'd rather spend my hard earned money on a pair of shoes than a DVD. Oh yes, I'm just feminine enough to admit that.

Talking about shoes makes me think of April 2. What am I going to wear? I have a very nice black halter dress, but it's all black. I need color in my life so I think I'm going to go with something bright.

Holy crap, when did I turn into such a girl? Next thing you know I'm going to be blogging about sewing. Come to think of it, I already know how to do that. AGH!!!

God In Traffic

So I saw God in traffic this afternoon. I was stuck in traffic for a while today. Pretty normal for the day after mardi gras. The state of Louisiana had to go back to work today and they were none too happy about it. I had a lunch meeting, came back to my office to check messages, and left around 4:30 to go pick up donation items. I needed to go to this relatively new shopping center called Towne Center. It tries to be snooty and is even more so now that a few of the New Orleans stores have "relocated" there. I like quality but not at the expense of niceness. Not that I want the businesses there to fail by any means. I just like quality AND niceness. My mom raised me to be nice to everybody.

Anywho, I was stuck in traffic at the front of a turning lane. As people were trying to turn, I fell into my habit of people watching. I love doing that. You can learn a lot of things about people by watching them. Not in a scary psycho way, just in a making an observation kind of way.

So I'm sitting in my car, and I watch as the people go by. A couple laughing in the car as she rubs the nape of his neck, a college student rocking out looking very cool in her shades, a businessman on his cell phone. A bald guy getting frustrated at the minivan in front of him. Three guys talking over their music that I could hear from their car.

Each one of their faces reminded me of God and how He made each one of us so different. I love that He's so creative with every single one of us!