Bubblewrap
http://fun.from.hell.pl/2003-11-24/bubblewrap.swf
I literally did this for at least 10 minutes.
Awesome Relationship Story
I was hanging out on my google reader, one of my favorite addictions, and this story came up. It’s hilarious. It’s about a girl and this guy that she liked. At first I was out off because he was married and she still pursued him, but I kept reading, and it was worth it.
http://www.karencheng.com.au/2009/02/26/when-hes-just-not-into-you/
Enjoy.
Movies and Cars
Of the movies on my list, 2 below, I’ve seen exactly zero of them. That makes me sad. It isn’t because I didn’t want to or couldn’t find the time. It’s because I’m poor, at least temporarily.
My starter motor finally died on my Toyota. It had been several months coming, but I still wasn’t prepared. The mechanic quoted $590 as the total to replace it. Sad Sad Day! I scrambled the money together, barely, and with the help of Thomas.
There were two blessings in the midst of it all. First was that I didn’t have to pay to rent a car or make a friend or family member drive me to and from work everyday. Instead, Thomas’ mom let me borrow an extra car she had. It was tiny and old, but it was a car. The other blessing came when I went to pay for the replacement work. The total was only, haha only, $466, instead of the predicted $590. It turns out that the part was more than $120 cheaper than previously thought. As glad as I was to not pay $590, I was still and still am sad to have had to pay anything at all.
But it’s nice to have my car back, with it’s cd player, acceleration abilities, better gas mileage and a starter that I can trust. I guess the movies will just have to wait to be netflixed.
Obamarama
I’m really surprised by this, but I’m really into the whitehouse blog. It’s surprisingly interesting and it’s nice being told what’s actually happening, instead of what could/should be happening.
I’m also really loving Obama.
Movie List
Movies I’d like to see soon:
Bride Wars
New In Town
Coraline
He’s Just Not That Into You
Push
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Watchmen (comes out on my bday!)
Jesus: Our Example, Ch. 5
I really connected with this chapter. I feel like I’ve been through a lot of times where I was suffering and I needed God to get through it all. I’ve grown a lot in this area in the last 3 years. I’ve learned that suffering is a part of the life we live here on earth. I hate it, absolutely hate it. But it’s an aspect of this life that we just can’t get rid of and we should use it to our benefit as much as possible. When I say benefit, I mean spiritual growth. Any time you are tested or in a time of struggle you are given choices. You can either turn to the harmful and hurtful comforts of the world such as sex, drugs, alcohol, food, rebellion, and so many others. Or you can choose to trust in God and to follow his lead. Food is my favorite comfort and I have many times chosen food over God. Obviously that hasn’t gotten me anywhere, but an accountability question about exercise. The point is that God is there. He is aware of our pain and the hurt that we are enduring and he wants us, he yearns for us to go to him for relief and encouragement. When I turn to food, it is so unsatisfying but when I turn to God it fills me up and stays with me for awhile. I hate sin and evil and anyone or anything that finds pleasure in it. But I love the Lord and his ability to take the worst depression or the angriest heart or the heaviest grief and reveal himself in good and love and joy and to get us out of those pits. That is one of many reason why I am a Christian. Anyone who is willing to sacrifice himself the way God did by sending Jesus, has my devotion and love. It’s so much more than that, but at the heart of it that’s what I feel.
Chapter 4: The God of Grace
I was blown away and not one bit surprised to find out that Chapter 4 was about God and the grace He offers to us. Grace is something that I’ve been struggling to understand for my own life and has recently come up more prevalent and valid than normal. I struggle so deeply to connect to the grace that God gives us so freely. I compare myself physically, spiritually, and relationally to everyone else. I am convinced that I am worthless and that there is no value inside me. But God is definitely growing me in this area. He is showing me what He sees when He looks at me. He is opening my eyes to see that my perspective is tweaked and that my value and potential are in Christ alone. Without Him, I really am nothing and worthless. But it is by His grace that I am beautiful and saved and have meaning. That is more empowering than anything that I could have conjured up myself. That is more real and deep than I thought I could ever comprehend. But that is God. That is what He does in our lives. He is real and honest and shows us more truth than we think we can handle. Chapter 4 helped me to see the balance between truth and grace and the importance of understanding the gift of grace from God. It is still a process that I am going through and will be for a while but I have grown immensely by my understanding grace better and better.
Trust and my New Job
So I haven’t posted real content in a while and it’s because I just started my new job. It really was a miracle that I got this job in the first place, so I figured I might as well share it.
The Story:
The last time I had a job was in May. Yikes. And I had been job searching for 7 long months. I’d posted my resume on monster.com, careerbuilders.com, jobs.com, and many more sites like those. I signed up with a temp agency and browsed the press enterprise online almost daily. I asked friends and family for recommendations or referrals. I volunteered on a regular basis, redrafted my resume and cover letters about 50 times, and prayed, like crazy. Almost everyday I asked God to show me direction and to help me find a job. I told him and others about debt that was incurring, student loans and bills to pay, car problems, and depression. I tried so hard to make the best of it all. I trusted God, with all my strength and hope and wishes. It was all I could do. And then one day, God showed me his plan. God has a way of leaving you in the lurch until he deems necessary to clue you in, and once that happens, everything moves quickly.
On Wednesday, December 17th, I got a call from Randstad, a staffing agency. Now I had already had bad luck with an agency so I figured this wouldn’t pan out either. Well, the guy from Randstad said he had found my resume on careerbuilders and thought I’d be a great candidate for a job already lined up. I was interested. (You learn quickly to NEVER reject a phone call, interview or job opportunity.) He said it was for a company called Mona Vie. “Oh great!” is what I thought immediately. Through Mary Kay, I had heard about Mona Vie and it’s similar multi-marketing structure. In the middle of the Randstad guy’s conversation I cut him off and asked if he wanted me to sell it. He laughed! And said no, that the job was for an administrative assistant at their new distribution center, and that my question was quite valid. LOL Oh me and my mouth! Well I said yes to coming in and talking with him on Thursday, December 18. So I went in, signed up and he sent my resume to Mona Vie. That afternoon he called and informed me that I had an interview the next day, Friday. That was fast, I thought. Went to the interview, loved the company immediately, and prayed that I would get this job. The guy hiring even said he liked me and thought I would be great, but that he had two others that would also work out great. 33% chance! I prayed, really hard. Now I had to wait. I figured it would be a little while before I heard. I was wrong. Tuesday, December 23 I got a call from Randstad. I had been offered the job. Of course I accepted and said thank you. When I hung up the phone, I broke out into tears. Not just a few tears, no balling, wailing tears. I had to go outside because I was so loud. I was in shock and excited and nervous and scared and overwhelmed and, did I say, shock. That was by far the best Christmas present I could’ve (and did) asked for. It wasn’t too long before I started either. I started January 5. What a great way to start 2009. Today will be the end of my second week and I LOVE my job. I’m perfect for this job and I finally feel like I have a purpose and something to do during the day. Oh yeah, and I get paid, which sure helps with the bills.
So what’s the moral of the story? I think it’s pretty obvious.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
For the Fun of It
These are a few websites that I use that I think are helpful and fun. Check them out!
Mon.thly.info: This one is just for women. It tracks your periods and lets you know when your next one will be, according to the every 28 days trick.
Searchme.com: This search gives you a visual representation of the websites where your searched keywords are found. It includes pictures and websites. So cool. Try looking yourself up.
Shopittome.com: SO SO SO COOL! You put in your favorite brands and your sizes and when you would like to be emailed, and then it will track when those brands put clothing on sale or clearance. Then it will email you all of the items on sale with pictures! Click the pictures you like and it takes you straight to where you can buy that item. They have over 550 brands to choose from!
