what was i thinking?

Friday (July 11)
We arrived in Cochabamba (a little late) and waited at the airport for our luggage. Thankfully, it was all there (PRAISE GOD!). We got to the BLC (Bolivia Life Center) and were greeted by many of the boys jumping on the bus to say, “Hola!” to us! I didn’t see Alejandro (my hijado/godson) anywhere and was really disappointed. I got Adam (one of the hosts) to find him for me and I waited outside his tutoring classroom until he was able to come out. When I finally got to give him a hug I was so excited. I love that boy so much and have missed him terribly since last summer when I met him for the first time. We went to a local village and did sidewalk sunday school. I was really encouraged by seeing the children there. They were so excited to hear the story of David and Goliath.

(Side note: Several women and men from the local church go out and do this EVERY Monday-Friday. They sing songs and present the gospel to children. When we go with them we help lead songs and then do a skit for them. This week it was David and Goliath. We also made “salvation bracelets” with different colored beads to tell the story of Jesus!)

At sidewalk, I was reminded and challenged by the obedience of these people from the church. They go to the same villages week after week doing the same songs and presenting the same gospel hoping that they are planting and watering seeds of life and truth in the hearts of these children. I cannot imagine doing that every day but am challenged by their obedience and willingness to do what God has called them to!

We had dinner and went to bed after sidewalk so we were sure to be ready for the next day at the park!

Alej and Me

Well, I’ve been back the U.S. for a little more than 48 hours and I already miss my Bolivia boys so much. It’s such a hard thing to describe…the relationships and experience in Bolivia…and nothing I experience here is quite the same. I thought I’d give everyone a glimpse of what my trip looked like and share some experiences with you! I’m going to write these in a series of blogs since some of them may be long so keep checking!!!

Friday, July 11

In about an hour, I’m leaving my house for Bolivia!  This is my second time there and I am so excited to go back and continue the relationships that began last year!  I ask that you pray for our team as we travel for safety and that we would be open to all the ways God chooses to use us and grow us while we are there!
Thanks!  I can’t wait to post about it and show pictures when I get home!!!

Adios!!!

It’s hard to believe it was 5 whole years ago when I graduated from high school and was spending my summer gathering all I “needed” for college. It was such a fun time…picking out a comforter and sheets, buying posters for the walls, choosing fun colors for towels and rugs, etc, etc, etc.

Today I was in Target and I was amazing at how Target has a whole brand called “College ‘08″ through which they market everything one “needs” for a college dorm room. There are sheets, rugs, towels, storage containers, pillows, posters, etc. I was a little bit sad walking through the isles wishing that I could afford one of each. (Everything “girly” is hot pink and brown this year…my favorites!) I was able to purchase two small laundry hampers and some storage bins for 2.99 a piece. (They’re all hot pink!)

Here’s the secret…in September once everyone is off to college, all this stuff will be on clearance. (Atleast it was last year) There will be fun picture frames, towels, sheets, organizing stuff…EVERYTHING YOU COULD WANT! I cannot wait.

Oh, and I’m in a cleaning/organizing mood today…let’s see how much I accomplish!

In my previous post I wrote about several things I had experimented with cooking.  I forgot something and have an addition to add of something I made tonight.

1) Eggplant Parm: YUM!  One of my faves.  I always thought this would be a very difficult recipe but it really isn’t.  However it does involve quite a bit of prep time.

2) Caesar Salad Stuffed Bread: Another Rachael Ray recipe.  This was really good.  The recipe calls for Semolina bread which according to my friend Andy (who is in the food service business) semolina flour is $35 for 50 pounds (apparently this is high!).  This would make a loaf approximately $7!  Needless to say, I substituted sour dough instead!

So one of my goals that I wrote about in a previous post was to learn to and make myself cook more.  I used to never cook and would go out to eat a LOT!  However, I’ve realized this is a huge waste of money and I really don’t even like eating out all so much (unless it’s a special occasion).  So, I’ve begun to start cooking more.  It’s also been nice since my roommate Amy has been willing to try out my creations!  (Thanks, Amy!)

One of the important things I’m learning about cooking is this:  Something may look really great in the cookbook or on a cooking show but may not taste that great in real life.  In this case I just have to admit that I don’t really like it and get over it.  Some things I may try to modify a little to try to improve them and some things I never want to make again!  It’s all part of the process of learning and experimenting!

Here are some of the things I’ve tried recently…If you care to have any of the recipes let me know and I will share!

Main Dishes

1) Ravioli and Spinach Lasagna: This is probably one of my favorites and it is SUPER easy.

2) Chicken and Spinach Pie: This was not so great…has has angel hair pasta, chicken, spinach, mayo, sour cream, etc, etc, etc…

3) Chile: Again, super easy and perfect for a rainy day.  (This is actually what I made tonight for dinner).  I think that a good side for chile is corn muffins or corn bread.  I use Jiffy.

4) Spinach/Artichoke Stuffed Bread: I made this the other night and I got the recipe from Rachel Ray.  I wasn’t too impressed with it (it wasn’t bad but not as good as it looked) however, I was missing some of the spices she uses so I may try again and follow the recipe EXACTLY!

5) Split Pea Soup: Again, very easy and one of my faves.  It’s too bad that most people can’t get past the green (very gross looking) color and recognize that this soup is SO good and pretty good for you.  This is another favorite for a rainy or yucky day.

Baked Goods

1) Chocolate Chip Banana Bread: This was SOOOOO good!

2) Blonde Brownies: another one of my faves (once you find out what’s in them you realize why they are so good!)

3) Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Thanks to Chad for introducing me to these.

4) Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie: Kasey taught me how to make this about a year and a half ago…so easy and SO good!

Anyway, that’s pretty much everything that I’ve learned to make.  I’m going to try to make stuffed peppers one day this week.  The guy at Publix today helped me pick out some really great bell peppers today so I’m very excited to make them!  Again, thanks for Amy for being my guinea pig!  She’s an EXCELLENT cook!

Last month in this blog I made a list of things to blog about.  Looking at the list you can see that I didn’t quite meet my goal of writing about all those things.  Actually, as of now I’ve only blogged about two of the five.  So, I will continue with my goal with this blog about my summer reading list.

1. Quickie (James Patterson)- I read this two weeks ago.  It was a very quick read and very interesting.  It definitely held my attention the whole way through the book.  It’s about a woman who witnesses her husband commit a murder and she must decide how she is going to deal with the situation.  Will she try to cover it up?  Will she confront him?  Why did he do it anyway?  Definitely a good suspenseful summer read.  For more information about my opinion on this book and James Patterson click here.

2. Someday (Karen Kingsbury)- I also have already finished this book.  It was another quick read.  This is the third book of Kingsbury’s Sunrise series and the thirteenth book involving the Baxter family and the drama/hardships surrounding them.  I’ve been reading her books for about 3 years and am waiting for the last book on the Sunrise series to come out soon so I can finish the series.  I have to admit I will be sad once the last book is done because I really feel like I know these characters and can relate to the hardships they face!

3.  The Trophy Wives Club (Kristen Billerbeck)- I am in the process of reading this right now.  I just started it today but so far it’s pretty good.  I’ll let you know when I finish it!

4. Mercy (Jodi Piccoult)- Coming Soon

5. The Red Sea Rules- Coming Soon

How many of you love to wait? When you really want something do you sit and think, “Oh, I’m so glad that I’m not getting what I want because I know how much I’m growing and my patience and character is being developed through this waiting period!”? Does anyone do that because to be honest I…DON’T!

When I really want something (now!) I usually sit around asking God, “Why???”…”Why are You keeping this from me?”…”Why can’t You show me Your plan?”…or my favorite…”God, I trust You, but I’ll trust you even more if you can just give me a hint about the future! Why can’t you just give me a hint???”

It’s hard to wait patiently, especially in the big things in life and especially when we think that we know what we need. I’m reminded of Psalm 37:4…

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart”

Notice this says, “desires of your heart”…not just the “quick fix” things that we want that we think will satisfy us right now. God promises us the desires of our hearts the things that we need and want that we may not even realize we need and want. This comes from delighting in the Lord…waiting for Him patiently…finding our whole satisfaction in Him.

or what about Psalm 27:14

“Wait for the Lord. Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”

It doesn’t say, “Wait for the Lord but be in a bad mood the whole time because you really want God to answer a little more quickly!” No! It says, “Be strong!” I think that means just what it says to have strong faith knowing that God will answer in just the right timing.

I’m writing this mostly for myself, just as a reminder as I’m faced with a current situation that requires a lot of waiting and a lot of trust and patience in God’s perfect plan. I am really working on trusting Him to know what’s best and to fill me in on the rest of His plan in the perfect timing!

So, all this wedding business lately has got me thinking about relationships. Not to mention the fact that at the last two weddings I have been to I caught the bouquet which has led my work friends (all of whom have significant others) to get excited about the possibility of me dating someone and getting married in the future. Haha. I’m really not so superstitious to believe that this bouquet catching means anything but still it’s fun to dream and it’s fun to watch my friends dream for me! Anyway, all this wedding stuff has got me thinking about relationships and why they don’t work. Well, maybe not why the relationship itself doesn’t work but rather the different types of scenarios that us girls encounter that end up leading to no relationship or a less than successful relationship. I’m warning you this post may sound a little cynical but really I’m still very optimistic about finding “love”…but still I’m sure you girls (and maybe guys) can identify with what I’m about to say!

1. The “I only want to date a supermodel”: This is funny to me. While looks and physical attraction are obviously very important parts of any dating/romantic relationship I find it funny when people dismiss someone of the opposite sex just based on their non supermodel looks. How many of us really look like a supermodel? I had a friend who told me that he couldn’t help it because God only made him attracted to the supermodel type. Really? Anyway, good luck to these guys and more power to the girls who can be content with being bigger than a size negative 4.

2. The “I’m going to ask out every female in close proximity in hopes that I’ll get a date” guy: Let’s be serious. Some guys are not really looking for true love. They are just looking for a girl who..well…I don’t think I need to go into detail about this. It’s easy to spot this kind of guy because they will ask out one girl and immediately upon being turned down will ask out another, and another, and another. These guys aren’t good at taking no for an answer and seem to think that a girl’s response of “no” is just her playing hard to get. These guys end up coming across as a little creepy after awhile and maybe slightly stalkerish!

3. The “We’re best friends and we really should be attracted to each other but we’re just not”: This is perhaps one of the most complicated scenarios. Who hasn’t had a “best friend” that’s a guy that they’ve been “in love” with but it just hasn’t worked out for whatever reason. You believe that you would be perfect for each other but there’s just that one missing piece…attraction. It’s bad when one of the people wishes for something more than a platonic friendship but possibly even more frustrating when both people really care for each other but just not in “that way”. These are the kind of friendships that end up leading to the “if we’re not married by the age of…then we’ll just get married” pacts. You know that you get along, you know the good the bad and the ugly about each other but something is just missing. You think that maybe, just maybe, cupid will strike you with his arrow and you will fall in love and live happily ever after without all that awkwardness of having to go through meeting someone and all the introductions that come with a new relationship.

4. The “I think I’m ready for a relationship but I’m really not” : This unfortunately has probably happened to most of us.  We think we are ready for something “serious” and so we jump in head first because we really like the person we’re “talking to”, pursuing, or being pursued by.  It works out for awhile but then the relationship comes to an abrupt end when (usually) one of the people involved realizes they aren’t ready for a realtionship.  Maybe they are too young.  Maybe they were hurt in the past by someone and just can’t get over it.  There are a variety of reasons why a person might not be ready for a relationship, all of which are okay.  The key here however is honesty.  Hey, it’s okay to not be ready as long as you’re honest about it.  This helps lead to less confusion for the other person.  I’d rather someone be honest with me about not being ready for a relationship rather than rush into something that could lead to more hurt down the road. (Side note: if you find yourself being the one who’s not ready, don’t put it on the other person or act like they are crazy for thinking you were initially interested in them if you were.  HONESTY!)

Haha.  I’m reading over this post and laughing because seriously, who am I to be giving relationship advice, or even writing about relationships when I don’t have much luck in this area.  However, I do have experience with each of these scenarios and each has helped make me into the person I am.  I am much more cautious these days when considering a prospective relationship (not that there are that many!) because of the experiences I have had.  I’m sure the list will grow and I’ll find myself in more awkward situations as time passes before I meet “Mr. Right”.  I guess I’m up for the challenge and hopeful that God’s got it covered and things will eventually work out.

What do you guys (and girls) think?  Does anyone have anything to add?

I cannot tell you how long it has been since I have sat around for several consecutive days and done NOTHING.  I usually get bored after a few hours of laying around on the couch but this week I have discovered what it means to have some much needed rest and relaxation.

Last Monday I left for Daytona and spent a few days with friends up there.  It was raining most of the week so we didn’t get much beach or pool time and we spent a lot of time laying around in the hotel room watching stupid TV shows and reading.  It was really nice to not have to be anywhere, do anything, or even get dressed and put on makeup it I didn’t feel like it. 

I got home on Thursday morning and went to a meeting and then out with my friend Ashley.  We cooked dinner at her house and I came home pretty early, watching some TV, and just hung out and went to bed pretty early.  Friday I got up and went to the grocery store and to run some errands and then came home and layed on the couch some more watching TV.  My friend Megan came over and we went to dinner and Cheesecake Factory and to see The Happening.  (Very good movie!)  She ended up spending the night and we talked until 3 am.

Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast (actually it was around noon) at The Boulevard, one of my new favorite breakfast places thanks to Amy.  We came home and talked some more and then I did stuff around the house (mainly watching TV) until I left for church with my family.  We went to dinner and then I came home and went to bed at 9:30!

This morning I got up and ate some fruit and caught up of the latest E! stories of the week.  Now, I’m sitting hear watching Raise Your Voice (the Hillary Duff movie) and downloading some new music and TV shows from iTunes.  I intend to go to the gym later and watching the new TV episodes I downloaded.

Anyway, it’s been a great weekend of nothing.  I’m hoping to be productive tonight and cook dinner (if someone wants to come over).  Tomorrow I start my summer job so it’s back to a 6 am alarm for me.