tumalo falls.

saturday morning i met a couple of lovely ladies downtown. we decided to be spontaneous and have a picnic at a waterfall, thank you oregon. it was such a wonderful reminder of how amazing our God is, and how blessed we are that he made such a beautiful place for us to live.

personality muscles.

last week i took the strengths finder 2.0 test. now this wasnt my first encounter with strengths finder, but it had been a while.

the first semester of my freshman year at cbu i took a version of the test.

my top five strengths in fall of 2007 were:

woo-woo stands for winning others over. you enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you

command-command leads you to take charge. unlike some people you feel no discomfort imposing your views upon others

positivity-you are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in the situation

empathy-you can sense the emotions of those around you. you can feel what they are feeling as though their feelings are your own.

communication-you like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write.

a week ago i took the test again, but this time the 2.0 version (im assuming it must be more accurate) and my top five strengths are now:

woo-woo stands for winning others over. you enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you

communication-you like to explain, to describe, to host, to speak in public, and to write.

activator-you are impatient for action. you believe that action is the best device for learning.

positivity-you are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in the situation

ideation-you are fascinated by ideas. you are delighted when you discover beneath the complex surface of an elegantly simple concept to explain why things are the way they are.

these sorts of tests or so interesting to me. i can definitely see why my number one hasnt changed. but its fascinating how the next four have shifted or changed.

being able to share and discuss these with other interns was so eye opening. it helped me learn why i work the way i do, and why others may not function identically.

thank you strengths finder, thank you very much.

also...

i had the most amaaazzzing experience as i walked to my car after babysitting at one this morning. STARS. like i had never ever experienced them before. i will be star gazing more often this summer.

where to begin.

lets start with the fact that i slept in until noon today. blah, so awful. i hate oversleeping normally, but this was a special circumstance. my body has been fighting off an icky cough for about a month and a half now, so i suppose my immune system jumped at the chance to get those 14 hours of sleep. so, youre welcome.

now for business, sort of. so far my time here in bend hasnt seemed like typical work at all. despite the fact that i am always doing something and have several sweet yet time consuming projects to tackle in these 9 weeks, there is such joy and satisfaction in every moment.

my family. my bend family to be a bit more specific. im staying with brandon and karie. they have been so gracious and wonderful to open up their home to me. brandon's joy and energy are so contagious and encouraging and karie is such an awesome example of what a godly wife and mother looks like. they have already blessed me tremendously. their four kids are undeniably adorable. they have me laughing continuously and constantly keep me on my toes. im sure once we all discover photobooth together i will have plenty of pictures to post.

my job. well to put it simply, my job rocks. i get to work with an incredible staff, a super sweet leadership team, and the coolest group of fellow interns i could have imagined. whether we are all working separately on projects or walking to the old mill for lunch its nice to have them around. my ministry focus being in children's ministry means that i get to do something that is so close to my heart. im working on a project called mission kids, which i will be dedicating a post to soon. linda is my ministry focus leader and when the two of us get together we become an unstoppable and sometimes overwhelming duo of energy, motivation, and giggles. im dabbling a bit in music while im up here, of course, and i get to work on the creation of the antioch church choir. i am so excited for this opportunity, i do have my fair share of choir experience.

other. i honestly and truly believe that i've made some life long friends. i love that im paired up with a super wonderful mentor and two equally lovely group members. im in a ping pong tournament that im sure to lose in the first round. i drive the 'cranberry cruiser' or more fondly known as the 'hubby hunter' which is a dark reddish purpley mini-van. i love it up here, and am praying about moving back after graduation, yikes! i could find a new yummy place to eat lunch at every day. coffee shops/tea houses are my new favorite place to go get work done. monday night craft nights are going to teach me so many new things. i love my new-found love for the outdoors; rock climbing, scaling, hiking, biking, running, river floating, river rafting, kayaking, and monday morning boot camp.

it is such a lovely blessing to have wonderfully talented photographers like marianne here.

smith rock.

my headband from craft night #1

more from smith rock.

more of the beautiful view.

i know im leaving out half of the cool things about this place, these people, and my last two weeks. but this is all i've got for now.

also...

im praying for some wisdom over this next week. so thankful that my God is faithful.

man, oh man.

things have been absolutely crazy. like the good, wonderful, beautiful, makes you want to dance, kind of crazy.

tomorrow is a semi free day, so fingers crossed, i'll be blogging about my first two weeks in lovely bend, oregon.

ive been so encouraged by every aspect of my surroundings these past two weeks, and i cant wait to share.

but for now here are some things i love most about downtown bend.

mc menamins

converted school house turned to a restaurant, pub, music venue, hotel, three dollar theater (complete with happy hour tots), and a turkish soaking pool.

thump coffee

who could pass up free wifi while sipping a spicy mayan gold mocha or tasty direct trade coffee, not me!

townshend's tea house

i love having a teapot of yummy chai on the table being warmed by a tea light underneath or grabbing a bubble tea, since they aren't easy to come by up here.

also...

ive decided to cleanse from social networking for a week. im not sure if blogging counts yet, we shall see.

meditating on ephesians 5:8-21.

well, well, well..

yep, its true.

how much, you ask..

more than this

which i happen to kind of adore

so there

today was just lovely, exactly as predicted.

also...

did i mention how incredibly blessed i am. im going to make a list in my new journal.

oh, and i leave for oregon in four days!

wanderings of the mind.

they're bound to happen when one is as tired as i am. nevertheless. here's what im thinkin

1. i still like the disney channel
2. ive been really brave today, i killed two yucky bugs and caught a lizard in my mom's bedroom
3. i wish i could successfully pull a tablecloth out from underneath a beautifully set table
4. i leave in four days for what has the potential for being one of the greatest adventures of my life
5. im glad i just had my favorite late night snack peanut butter captain crunch
6. i could reeeeaaaallly use a manicure
7. tomorrow is going to be a lovely day
8. i love continuing to learn about GRACE
9. im sore from running more that i have in quite some time, yessssss
10. i cant wait until my clothes are back from the dry cleaners
11. I GET TO SEE MY BROTHER for three whole days
12. im intimidated by the garage sale happening at my house this weekend
13. im thankful for my fathers indian heritage
14. i miss skype dates, like tonight.
15. i rely on the word of god, through all things

"Trust in the lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."

proverbs 3:5-6

i love that trusting in the lord is all i have to do. thats all. granted, not an easy task, by any means, but in the past few weeks ive picked up this new tendency to over analyze. really, i mean reeeaaaaly, its not up to me, or my elaborate plans, or rationalizations. sure god has the ability to bless some half thought out mediocre plan, and work it together for good. but i dont want something that has to be worked together and turned into good, id rather have gods perfect will, please and thank you. so for the time being im going to stop worrying about the future so much and enjoy the awesome blessings before me right now. im happy, like REAL happy, and i can find rest in the fact that if i continue to seek his will in all i do, he will direct my ways.

also...

i wish i could go see two of my roommates who are in the same city as me at this very moment.

herbaceous peonies

i love my mom. as i've gotten older i've learned to truly appreciate our relationship, who she is as a woman, not just a mom, her love for the lord and the evidence of that in her life and interactions with others.

i promise we're serious sometimes. and she'd probably highly dislike these, but they are just the only pictures i have on my new computer.

she took off the week before i leave for oregon, so we can prepare for a giant garage sale. these past couple of mornings have been so nice, waking up and sitting next to her on the couch while i drink my coffee.

this morning we watched the martha stewart show and she did a whole segment on herbaceous peonies. surprise. who knew that my mom and i have the same favorite flower. adorable.

i mean, who wouldnt want to walk out into their backyard and see this

or eat breakfast with this on the kitchen table

or better yet, walk down the aisle carrying this

i really am such a sucker for fresh flowers. my, oh my.

on another note, choir tour was amazing. God never ceases to amaze me. he was so evident in the lives of the girls and those we came in contact with. he certainly taught me a lot about patience, leadership, and most of all love. i have every intention of blogging about one night in particular that blessed me. however, i have a busy twelve days ahead of me. i have so much to get done before i road trip up the california coast. ive been mia on here lately and now that its summer time [praise the lord] that means no homework, beautiful sunshine, and time to be a real blogger.

also...

im still loving my daily devotion book. im learning so much about god's grace, what it really is, how its evident in my life, and how to show it to others.