Currently Reading The Hiding Place By Corrie Ten Boom, John Scherrill see related

Wow, has it really been that long?  I can't act like life has been on hold, plenty has happened, but haven't wanted to take the time to blog.

Went to Utah for a month with the Herrings (family I work for).  It was a blast!  I got to re-live childhood, yet again, the great outdoors!  To get away from the city was much needed, but when I returned to Manhattan I realized how much I had been CRAVING my friends and the city grit.  To be loved and appreciated by friends is truly a gift.

My parents came to NYC and we had a blast.  Just did all the NYish site seeing and just enjoyed staying in my extremely generous employers' apartment while they were away still in Utah!  Living on the Upper East Side is a whole new world.  hee hee.

Made the long drive back to KC with my parents and am now just enjoying some downtime at their house.  Going outdoors is unheard of in this HUMID, 106 degree weather, so I'm just going through all my old drawers and helping around the house. . .currently reading "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom. . .it's stirring up my heart. . .uh oh. . .

Now I'm finding a mix and flood of longings in my heart.  I was certain that after reading that book, I wanted to go back to the city and begin nursing school.  The medical profession, right now, is the closest thing to being a hero in a world of injustice I can think of. . .after looking through old photos and cards written by friends and loved ones from all over the world of cruise ships, my heart is torn.  I LOVE NYC, and couldn't be happier with my community there, but feel a pull to go back out to sea and perform, creating relationships again that could also change the world, one at a time.

For now, I just have to give it all over or I'll make myself crazy.  It's hard for me to sort through these things, because I don't want to let anyone down and make the wrong or selfish decisions. . .but I also want to live my passions and dreams at full-speed.

Yesterday my dad took me jet-skiing. . .that fulfilled my full-speed longings for one day at least.  I'm sore today.

What's up with the weddings?  This last weekend in Austin was SO FUN!  Gelsey was a magical bride.  I have so many things to say about all the things I realized while there, but for now, enjoy the pics!

Gelsey Brie, my GREAT old friend, a beauty bride!!!

Dancing with her new husband, Dave. . .

The girls. . .all of the above, either Rockettes, dancers from LA, or former dancers with Gelsey.  TOO much fun!!

Good ol' times re-uniting with friends from LA. 

Perhaps the best highlight of the time with the girls was rehearsing for our debut of "Son of a Preacher" surprise where we danced to the tune for the groom on the dance floor.  The empty chair is where his red-faced self was seated!

Ok, been really bad at blogging, journaling, etc etc etc.  I'm doing lots of processing though!

A couple weeks ago, I got the privilege of going to New Jersey to celebrate with Janeen, my good ol' friend from the first time I went to Hawaii on a cruise ship.  She and I also lived together in NYC last year for a bit, experiencing and growing so much together.  She is such a gem, and a beautiful bride!  Celebrating with her opened my eyes to such a new awareness of all these wedding bells in my life right now.  My perspective is really changing on things.  I feel like God's stripped me of things that had once gotten in my way, old "dreams" that I was holding onto. . .things that were just basically stupid.  Recently I'm beginning to have new dreams. . .of a full life ahead with such greater things.  I don't know what really!  But I know that it's entailing more than what I THOUGHT I hoped for. . .

and PS:  just because I've maybe been changing in many other aspects, still don't mess with me on the dance floor. . .

Love that song, you all know it, "Had a bad day. . ." by Daniel Powter. . .well how about a bad week?  Or no.  Not a bad week.  Thankfully, an amazing week, but a few hard bumps.  Words from a friend that are hard to hear, hard to swallow.  Thankful for those words.  Making me aware of things that need to change.  Words from a co-worker that cause me to reflect on what I need to be and who I need to mimic. 

Whether right or wrong in situations, a friend has encouraged me to take the high road.  Even if completely right, or completely wrong, always looking for ways to put others above myself, and take the lower position.  Did my Master, example, Jesus Christ deserve anything He endured or allowed himself to go through or the life He chose to live?  Was He capable of such "greater things?"  I mean, "greater" in the eyes of our simple-minded eyes. . .of course.  But He chose to lay that all aside and serve others above Himself.  What a hard position to emulate.  Yet, in the words of Jon Tyson, do I want to create a life that is so inward focused that I only survive thinking of myself?  Or do I place others' well-being in the extraordinarily important places in my life that it HAS to stand out that there is something going on that is either real, or I am crazy.  Hopefully that's where living wisely will kick in, and I can hope I don't appear crazy.  If I do, oh well.  At least I'm crazy and not like everyone else, right?

Now, all nice ideas. . .putting them into practice, this is the hard thing when Monday rolls around. . .

Looking for a pair of fun new summer shoes?  Or even if you are not, check this site out!!!  This guy's cause is amazing, we had him speak at Origins last week.  He really believes in what he's doing, obviously, to take such a profit loss as to donate a pair of shoes for every shoe sale.  The shoes go to children in S America, really, you should check out the site, and please tell all your friends about it.  We live in a city and country where people are always buying another pair of shoes. . .why not buy a child who needs them a pair in the process without spending any more? 

http://www.tomsshoes.com/