Altered Perspectives

Ever look at something one way for a really long time? Like not just a few hours but years and years and then just one day your perspective changes and your views are altered forever? And you know it's never just on that one thing. No everything that's connected to your first idea also now must be reexamined. It's almost like now you're double checking yourself. I know that I often think, "How did I miss that? What else can I see here?" And I don't just mean things that I'm actually physically looking at like a shirt that looks good in the store but when you get home it's herendous. No, more I mean life expectations. Or chances that we take. Or plans that we make. And the craziest thing is that just the smallest thing can alter one's perspective forever. It only takes a minute to wreck a car but that experience can change the way you drive or look at cars forever. It only takes two people, a few words, and a piece of paper to get married (really if you think about it) but it can alter one's perspective on life forever. I don't know...I just guess that to me the human brain and just how we view ourselves and things around us and how our brain processes it all is amazing and truly we should be in awe of the creator of something so amazing.
There have been so many times in my life that my perspectives have been altered. I'm sure in smaller measures it's happening everyday all day long. But some major alterations occured on a few occasions that I thought I'd process out loud.
When I gave my life to Christ. My whole world view and purpose in life was changed forever. It was as if I was now walking around on my hands because my entire world, or what I knew as my world turned upside down.
When I graduated from high school. I don't know. Maybe it's just me but my graduation from high school was so much more altering than my graduation from college. Maybe because I truly felt like an adult leaving home and moving away.
When I moved to DC. Talk about culture shock and major adjustments on my world view.
When I connect with friends who become some of my best friends. That alteration broadens everything just because now I've added some of their thoughts and views into my life.
And finally (only in this post not in reality or my life) when I stepped out of 9-5 job (or acutally a 7:30-4:30 job) and joined missionary ranks altering so many perspectives forever.

by the way...the picture is just the close up shot of the side of an elephant

INFORMATION

At my ripe old age there are lots of things I've learned. And now I shall share a few of those things with thee.

Thee and the are not the same word.
Fire is hot.
When you see a dogs teeth, it's not smiling.
Just because you knock on a door doesn't mean anyone will open it.
God's in charge. That includes when you're driving, working, playing, even sleeping. Pretty much all the time God is in control.
Mud is gross and to avoided unless you pay lots of money and are in some fancy salon type place and sitting in what looks like a baby pool.
There are 5 NFL teams with Birds for mascots.
You just tried to figure out what the 5 mascots are.
If you were born before Jan 1990, you are now an adult.
When you're hungry, eat.
When you're thirsty, drink.
When you're tired, sleep.
Eat and sleep almost rhyme but then they don't.
This is the end of my post.

LOL

LQTMS- laugh quietly to myself
SGITUALIMM- so gross I threw up a little in my mouth
WASQ- what a stupid question
BFW- Bored from waiting

yes i wrote these
-Chandler

17 things you didn't know you didn't know

1. Money isn't made out of paper; it's made out of cotton.
2. The 57 on Heinz ketchup bottle represents the varieties of pickle the company once had.
3. Your stomach produces a new layer of mucus every two weeks -otherwise it will digest itself.
4. The Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.
5. 40% of McDonald's profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.
6. Every person has a unique tongue print.
7. Ketchup was sold in the 1830s as medicine.
8. The 'spot' on 7UP comes from its inventor who had red eyes. He was albino.
9. 315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.
10. On average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.
11. Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine are brother and sister.
12. Chocolate affects a dog's heart and nervous system; a few ounces will kill a small sized dog.
13. Most lipstick contains fish scales.
14. Orcas (killer whales) kill sharks by torpedoing up into the shark's stomach from underneath, causing
the shark to explode.
15. Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the other at the same time.
16. American Airlines saved $40,000 in '87 by eliminating one olive from each salad served in first class.
17. There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.

decisions

So I've been trying for sometime to figure out to blog some of my thoughts on the new year. And I guess the best thing to say is that there are lot of new decisions that need to be made. I don't think that most of us realize how many decisions we make daily. Which is probably a good thing that we don't realize it because they could drive us crazy. Like paper or plastic, should I drink milk or water, should I slow down or speed up, should I respond to that email now or in 5 mins, should I use this brush or this comb, should we go left or right. These kind of decisions are just ones that we make most of time by how we feel about them at the time. Which is good that we are all able to do that, otherwise we'd all go nuts.



But with all that said there are still a lot of choices in our lives that do in a way drive us crazy and we can't always just do what ever we feel. It's not a paper or plastic kind of decision. It's more of a life affecting choice. And there are more now than ever before. And I'm really not here to take a stance on what I think about all that and the number of choices we have today. Instead I'm just putting thoughts out there about my own personal journey down decision road. Covering all areas such as what's the next step perfessionally, what's the best choice health wise, what do I want to prioritize this year.

I guess mostly I'm just talking and putting out there my thoughts. I know that just in my group of closest friends, there are tons of decisions being made by each of them right now. And it's exciting and scarey as heck. But honestly...isn't wonderful that we have the freedom to even the choice to make those decisions?

And so I end with...
Good Luck on your decision making in 2007
Remember to Pray
And never be afaind to ask for help

The Small Things

So it really is the small things in life that can make you the happiest. Case in point. Over the holidays I went to Wal Mart with my mom and I bought brand new bath mats for our bath room at my house here. We haven't had brand new mats since I've lived here. They are so soft and clean. And when I was taking off the tags I noticed they still smelled of new rubber like a tire store which here's an odd fact about me...I LOVE NEW RUBBER SMELL. The point being that it's small things like a new mat that make me happy daily.

Denver Pictures as Promised

Here are some pics from Denver. These are my sisters two Labs: Bronson, the black one, and Freita, the blonde one. And that's my sister at the bottom. Hi Jenny!

The Last Post About Snow in Denver

Well, the weather men were wrong and the second wave of snow never came to Denver. That's good for me because now I should have no problem at all getting out of the airport and into DC. I will have pictures to post later on my trip because I got a digital camera for Christmas. YAY! I love technology but not as much as you you see. But I still love technology.

This is the last day of 2006. Happy New Year Everyone!

So I Lied

Yesterday I said it wasn't as cold in Denver as it was in Kabul but it actually is. Today the low is 7 degrees. WHAT AM I DOING HERE?

SNOW!!!!

So I'm in Denver right now. And for those of you who read Jo's blog, it's cold here too but not as cold as it is there. So as you all know Denver got dumped on last week and kept a lot of people from their Christmas travels including my sister who never got out of Denver and spent Christmas here instead. Anyway, I came out here on Tuesday and today we are getting dumped on one more time. They are expecting two waves of snowing by Saturday adding up to 18-24 inches of snow to the already snow covered icy ground. I really hope I can get out on Sunday. Here's praying.

YES I KNOW THAT MY BIRTHDAY IS OVER

Denver

Merry Christmas and I hope you are all able to get to where you are trying to be for the holidays.

today's my birthday

Personal Blog Post

To my readers:
Stefa- I stole your sunglasses by accident. Also I tried thrice to comment on your blog but it wouldn't let me. Do you have Beta? Cause I do and I'm hearing that has been causing problems for some people. Switch to Beta cause I like it and I'm not switching back. Okay good. Also nice job on updating so much so often. You are by far the winner. Winner! You should totally be Man of the Year for Time magazine. (please read stefa's blog if that makes no sense)

Kendi- Hey will you be back by new years eve or are you staying at home. Cause if you're here we should hang out. Also Isn't it odd how long Stefa's is and everyone else's is really short?

Monty- Same as above. But also when do you leave? Tuesday? Wednesday? Also what is the deal with the Platypus? It's so unattractive and really serves no purpose.

Jen- Wanna hang out?

Jill- Aren't you excited, you're gonna get to see me in 8 days? I mean who cares about seeing family and Christmas and all that when you're anticipating my arrival. YYYESSSSS! PS my birthday is tomorrow.

Jo- Wanna ride bikes?

Courtney- Do you even read this any more now that you've killed your blog with no warning.

Blake- Call me when you're in Denver and I'll let you know where Jen and I are. Also come get your camera.

Tiff- Can you remind Blake to call me when you guys are in Denver please?

Okay I think that's all my regular readers. I know there's few more of you but I don't know how regular you are. Give me shout if you feel as though you've been left out.

'Tis the Season

So it's that time of year again. That's right...my birthday. Tonight is my bash. I think my favorite thing about birthday bashes is the focus on me and how great I am.* But my second favorite thing is the people who come out. The friends that want to celebrate with me on my birthday or at least for my birthday. Rarely is my party ever on my actual birthday. Even when my day falls on a weekend. It's because it's so stinkin' close to Christmas. But because of that in order to make sure it didn't end up clumped with Christmas my family always made a big deal of the day. And so as a result now-a-days I love my birthday and I love those people who help me make a big deal of the day. Thanks guys for coming out and praising me.*

*Please note that many things said in the above paragraph are for humor sake and that I am not really as self-centered as it appears that I am. Although I do really love my birthday and my family really did always make it a big deal and I am really thankful to everyone who is coming out tonight to eat and be merry with me in order to celebrate my 26th year alive.

Just some thoughts from all over the place put in no particular order and made into a post actually I'm surprised you're still reading this title

1. My birthday is in 8 days for all of you keeping track.
2. Is it really this far into December? What happened to October and November?
3. What's the deal with this weather? It's like 60 degrees here! Exclamation Point.
4. I love Christmas. Also I love the cheeriness it bring out in others. It makes me happy to see others around me happy.
5. I expect hugs, kisses, and gifts on my birthday just so you guys know.
6. I love all the parties this time of year. We just had our annual Christmas party 3 days ago. And just in case any one is actually wondering. We've never actually had a Christmas party at our house. But I found it funny that many of you refered to it as our Annual Christmas Party. Party on! Exclamation Point.
7. Tonight for dinner I had ice cream. Being a grown up is fun sometimes. Just call me a health nut.
8. You know what's a funny word...Porcupine. I think if I had written that word orginally I would have made it read...pokeypine. HA! Exclamation Point.
9. Why did I number everything in this post?
10. Bye

Ebenezers Number Two

http://cityguide.aol.com/washington/bestcoffeehouses

Go here and vote Ebs for best coffee house in DC and let's make it number one!

funny

God is neat

I don't usually post posts like this on my blog but I felt like it this time so here you go.

God is really awesome and He has done so many really awesome things in my life lately. So here's a very small list of what's up.

Last week a supporter of mine gave a HUGE financial gift to me. It was enough to pay off both my credit cards.
God Rocks!
Today a supporter of mine called to let me know that they wanted to pay my cell phone for this month. Which was paid in full via online by that supporter this morning.
God is so super!
Then I've been trying to get all my flights and travel plans ready to go for this upcoming Holiday season including plans for Mardi Gras in Feb. And today I totally got everything done. And I got an awsome price with direct flights all done and ready this afternoon.
God is incredible!
Finally I've been fighting with some of my electronics over the last month or so. My laptop has been randomly shutting down for no reason or warning and my email has been randomly kicking me off telling me I have to sign in again. But today none of that happened. Not even once. My email worked like it's supposed to and my laptop worked as well.
God works in mysterious ways!

So that's just a very few surface level praises of the awesomeness of God today but I felt I needed to share.

Last video for the week...I promise

I know this is the 3rd video I've posted on my blog this week. But this is one of the funniest videos I have EVER seen. I laughed out loud. And then I watched it again and laughed more.

untitled

Okay this is a video I made. The song in it is Mad Mad World from the Donnie Darko soundtrack by Michael Andrews. I'm not trying to make any statement or anything like that. I just wanted to make a video. Although I do think it probably reflects a little bit of my mood lately. If that makes any sense at all. All the shots are from DC. Mostly around union station and Ballston. Thanks for traveling with me Kendi. It took me a few weeks to get everything all together but just 2 days to put the video all together. The idea has been hanging out waiting on me for some time. She doesn't know this, but thanks Jen for helping me come up with this idea. Take from this what you will.