Picture or Picture Frame?

I have been having a tough time recently. Nothing major, but I have hit a few bumps in my life and have been trying to deal with them. (Hint: "deal with them" means that I pray 10x more then I normally do.) I am blessed to have friends that share in my similar beliefs and I love to celebrate with them.
Tonight, I went to a worship session, so to speak, that focused on spreading the Word of our Lord to everyone. The message was for men and women especially in the Greek system, where it is easy to fall into the trap of drinking, hanging out with the wrong people, and, to sum it all up, absorb yourself with worldly things. So often, whether you are Greek or not, we fall into the trap of putting all of our focus, effort, and time into a new cell phone, a boyfriend or girlfriend, school work, Facebook, things that fill nothing in our hearts. I like to call them distractors. I'm not talking about Facebook (or in my case, this blog) distracting you from writing that paper that is due tomorrow. I am talking about the superficial things that, 10 years down the road, won't really matter. These distractors take us away from the Lord.
An easy way to think about this is the optional assignment that my English teacher gave to my class senior year in high school. We were told to write a note to our parents. (Shhhh....Don't tell my parents about this, they think I'm the sweetest kid ever!) We didn't turn it in to my teacher, we didn't even write it during the school year. The letter was a thank you note to our parents for everything that they had ever done for us: make your lunch, teach you how to tie your shoe, tuck you into bed, you name it. It was all up to you. The big tear-jerker part of this is that we left the letter somewhere at home, so that our parents would find it the first night or morning that we were away at college. This little assignment is near and dear to my heart and my parents. I would bet money that the three pages that I wrote to each of them means more then the Christmas presents that I gave them last year. The Christmas presents were materialistic.
All of these distractors were called into light tonight. One of the men who spoke used an analogy that I loved! He held up a solid black picture frame with no picture in it and said:

"When you look at a framed picture on a shelf, you look at it and say, 'Wow, what a great picture!' You don't say, 'What a great frame!' Me, you, we need to be a picture frame for the Lord. So when a person looks at you, they don't see you; rather, they see the Lord."

It just makes sense. We need to constantly reach out to others. Dropping the distractors and holding (or framing) the more and most important thing in life. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

A New Dish

Every person has a favorite restaurant. If you don't, your mouth must be sown shut and you cannot eat real food. If this is your case, I am so, so sorry; because, I do not know what I would do without delicious food.

At your favorite restaurant, you probably have a favorite meal. You can discover a favorite dish by trying different entrees or, if you are lucky enough, the first time you entered the restaurant, you chose the perfect meal and you now order it every time you go there. The latter applies to me for my favorite restaurant in Athens: Transmetropolitan. Transmet, for short, serves yummy Italian style food. Since Italian food is my absolute favorite, I was immediately drawn in. My meal of choice: a side salad with fresh mozzarella and a amazing slice of pepperoni pizza with thin, crunchy crust. I don't even bother looking at a menu.

Last night, however, I did something crazy. No, I didn't do what you are thinking of. I ordered something different (Cue the dangerous/adventuresome music). I ordered a panini with sauteed green peppers, red onions and portobello mushrooms with grilled chicken. It was delicious. 

La scoperta di un piatto nuovo è più preziosa per il genere umano che la scoperta di una nuova stella. From Italian to English: The discovery of a new dish is more precious to human beings than the discovery of a new star. Or at least this saying is true for me.

We are all so concerned about what we are putting into our bodies. I can't lie, I'm probably more concerned than most, but healthy eating habits are essential to a healthy life. But every once in awhile, roll up your sleeves and enjoy a new, different, and delicious meal at your favorite restaurant. Besides, can it really be considered your favorite restaurant if you have only had one or two things on the menu?

Bad Days

No, it did not rain today. However, it was one of those days where one thing after another did not go as well as I would have hoped. We all have them. The test was way harder than we anticipated. The printer would not work and you were in a time crunch. The e-mail that you had been waiting for for two weeks finally came, but it started with "unfortunately" rather than "congratulations." For me, the day that I just had contained all of these scenarios. The day were you just want to throw your hands up and say "Everything bad has happened. Is there really anything else that could go wrong?" At that moment, a truck hits a puddle and you are soaked. Thankfully, that did not happen to me today. My point is that we all go through them at one time.
You know when you are studying for a huge test and a friend is studying for a hard exam too? We take comfort in the fact that we are both studying for hours. It doesn't seem as bad if someone is going though the same thing. So, why is it that, when we have bad days, nothing can top our sad stories. If you sit down to tell someone about the awful day that you just had and they try to pipe in with a mini-gloomy story, you hit them with a massive, look out for your lives, soap opera of your life. The bitterness started with one day, and somehow leaped into your entire life. Why don't we feel comforted?
I wish I had the answer, because I would love to unleash my inner soap star. I don't though. (I know. Sad.) It seems as though the only things that will comfort me are my good friends Ben & Jerry, but my wardrobe doesn't approve of our love affair. So, I'm sorry Ben & Jerry. Maybe next time. 
For now and always, I am turning to God. For where a door closes, God opens a window. (I hope it's a big window though so my two friends can come along.) I might not find the window tomorrow, but it's there. Proverbs 3: 5-6  says "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."It's hard to do, especially on the bad days. God is the shoulder of all shoulders to cry on. Lean on him, and, in time, the bad day blues will disappear.

Where are the good guys?

It has occurred to me as the awful holiday, otherwise known as Valentine’s Day, has quickly approached that the good guys are dwindling. What happened to the men depicted in the black and white movies? The guys that stop you, pick you up, and carry you over a puddle so that you don’t get wet.

With Valentine’s Day tomorrow, and my plans including getting desert with some friends and doing homework, you could say I am a little bitter. I’m not upset about not having a guy (well, maybe a little). I’m sad because all of the good guys are taken, or, even worse, the women are just settling for the “eh, ok” guys.

My friends and I are talking about re-enacting the scene from the movie Valentine’s Day, hitting a heart-shaped piñata. This is a problem. Good guys, if you are out there, your appearance around town would be greatly appreciated. You are extremely missed.

"Hurry Back"

Today was one of those days. The type of day were my alarm went off but I wasn't quite ready to wake up; I finally got out of bed, but with a backache; when I got to the gym, I had zero motivation to workout. Know what I am talking about? It was just one of those days. I want to focus on the gym part though. I had no motivation when I got there, but by the time I left I had run 7.5 miles and would have kept going, but I felt guilty since there was a line of people waiting for the treadmill.
Many people argue that you don't go anywhere on a treadmill. Technically, they are correct; I'm not moving from Point A to Point B. However, to me, I truly moved and ran that 7.5 miles. No matter how or where you run the distances are the same. Something is accomplished.
This "something is accomplished" reminded me of my Grandpa Mick. He was a runner and a darn good one. He ran for Michigan State, was an All American Athlete, ran a mile in 4:06ish, was a cross country coach for many, many years, and became the town's favorite coach. When he was coaching and preparing his runners, he would always leave them with the same two words: hurry back. Those two words told his runners that he wanted them to work hard, run fast, and excel. He wanted to see them succeed in whatever race or obstacle that was set before them.
I love his saying, "hurry back." Although it does not fit into every situation... "How was your day?" "Hurry back."... the saying reminds me to strive to excel in one thing each day and that I accomplish something everyday. When I am going through a tough or frustrating time (which, is about every day), I just think "hurry back" and I relax. I call to mind the things that I have already completed and the stress evaporates. Never lose sight of what truly matters in life. The things that seems to drown us every day will not kill us. We just have to remember to "hurry back."

13 Again...

Do you ever wish you could go back in time to the simpler times? Yes? Well, me too. I would say that this question is my all in one excuse for some of the "childish" things I do.
For example, in middle school if your crush talked to you, you would play it cool (hopefully) and then turn around to your friends and squeal, jump, and do a happy dance.
Now, in college, if a cute guy talks to you, a happy dance is a little strange and over the top. However, I say that if you really like the guy, bust a move!
Why do we have to be confined to our age? Maybe I am a little reminiscent with my birthday coming up, but I believe in living life to fullest. For me, right now, the fullest includes squealing and dancing. Do what makes you happy and content. Enjoy life's simple pleasures. Have fun and, every once in awhile, be 13 again, because in the blink of an eye you will be celebrating another birthday and another milestone.

Friends vs. Best Friends

How do we measure our friends? Do we count the times they text, call, or Facebook chat us? The number of times we hang out during a week? How thoughtful they are? What is a good measurement?
I'm not sure that it is possible to have just one answer. It is the combination of traits in each individual that makes a good friend a best friend.
There are a few different ways to test your best friends though:
1) Middle name - Many people say that you don't really know a person until you know their middle name.
2) Favorite __(insert item here)__? - It's the ice cream flavor that matters here.
3) Birthday - Sadly, I fail at this one. I'm sorry, friends. Thank you, Facebook.
4) Family tree - You get extra points if you know where they live.
Of course there is more, but these are the basics. Right? Maybe. Who knows? No one. For me, a best friend is a person who has my back whether they are standing next to me or whether they are an hours drive away. They have my best interests in mind and they always keep me in their prayers (a person can always use more prayers). Best friends are the people who you can feel distant from, feel like you aren't in the group anymore, feel like the friendship has dissolved and, with a few hours together, feel like no time has passed since your last visit to see them. Best friends live in the moment together and don't let a moment pass without being thankful for each other and God's hand in each of their lives and their friendship.

Laugh At Yourself

My dad taught me at a young age that if you are able to laugh at yourself you can get through a lot of hard times. I "stand" by this statement. By "stand,"I mean that I fall and get back up time after time. There are certain situations that are impossible to laugh at when they are happening.
So, I went to a social tonight. The theme was 1990's. Now, whenever someone says anything about the 90s, our instant response is "Oh, I love the 90s!" I have nothing against the 90s, but when you try to think of cute ways to dress to represent the 90s, it doesn't seem like the best decade. However, 5 guys at the social were the Power Rangers, tights and all. What could have been a.... strange outfit turned into the best part of the night. They laughed about it. We laughed about it.
Think this isn't that interesting? Just picture a 6'2"college guy in pink tights and a pink windbreaker. Is that a smile? Mission accomplished!

Where to begin?

     A blog. I can just see the eyebrows raise and a puzzled look appear in their eyes. Yes, a blog. I am an English minor, so doesn't that entitle me to some sort of writing outlet? That might be a stretch, but I just felt the need. So, here I am on a Wednesday night (technically Thursday morning), procrastinating my last cram session for my Geography test. Procrastinate = blog? Apparently tonight it does.

   I had an interview today for this amazing program that I would be honored to be a part of. It was at 2pm and I have been re-playing my answers and the interviewer's facial expressions in my head. Is that sideways smile a "I like what you are saying" or a "You just dug yourself in a hole?" We all do it. Get a question, and say the first thing that pops into our mind and when you are walking out the door, the best possible answer finally shows itself to you. Well here is the answer that I wanted to change:

     Question: What is one thing that you do that others find weird or strange?

     Original answer: I love to read. I plan my day around when I can sit down with a good book.

     'Wish I could go back and change my answer' answer: I plan my day around when I can go to the gym. I wouldn't say that I am a workout-aholic, but I do love it. By planning my day around it, I lose two or so hours, but gain concentration and ease for the rest of the day. We all have that one weird thing that we don't want others to know about, but that is who we are. If you change it, you're lost. If we can all find that one book, exercise, song, or quote would we all have better days? I believe in the simple pleasures of life and doing something just for the heck of it. If I could live every day of my life as though I am running on a treadmill, I will be one happy person. When I run, my stress melts away, my problems are left in the dust, and my heart rate and pure adrenaline pull together and, somehow, calm me. My prayer is that we can all find that one thing and dwell in it. If I run, even just to the bus stop to catch an East-West to the dining hall, I have peace, calm, and good in my day.