Flickr

I've updated my Flickr account with the pictures I took with a strange camera and processed by Wal-mart. So please excuse the poor quality. I hope you enjoy their sentiment, though!

Wistufl

Actually, that should be "wistful." But the misspelling sounded good :-)

Tomorrow I head into the dank, grungy depths of Oakland once more. I'm not looking forward to it, so I'm working on a change of heart. But change doesn't often come for the asking.

Sovereign Grace's latest musical effort, "Valley of Vision" has been incredible. It's hopeful, unlike their latest projects, and much less condemning. Some of the songs pull my heart down, and I want to cry just to cry. But then I listen to the words, and I remember redemption. "You're near with every breath!" "I come runnin' to you! There my soul finds rest!" "All that I need is in you, Jesus!" Speaking of the lyrics, Stephen Altrogge has grown incredibly as a songwriter (and a good friend of my tween years is marrying him!).

So, to what am I really looking forward? (Hey, check out that non-preposition-ended sentence structure!) I get to FENCE, which is always amazing in ways I can't explain. Both coaching and competing, the latter of which I would really like to do. I also get to explore friendships more easily, since it seems there are more people my age in the area, I have a license to drive, and I don't have class on Mondays or Fridays. So weekends should be fun...if I'm not working like crazy. I'm also looking forward to God, if that makes sense.

The other day I decided that I'd try to make God my "lowest common denominator." In terms of entertainment, this phrase is usually derogatory and refers to visceral, animalistic movies etc. (Talladega Nights comes to mind, but I've never actually seen that one.) I use this term to describe the "baseline" that I want to have. People often talk about "mountain-top experiences," but I want God to be always there, regardless of my emotional state. Of course he's "there," but I'm referring to what I first reach for when I'm tempted to let emotions run away with my mind.

HEY! Brilliant idea for posterity...Now that I've become the joker as part of John and Kayte's fitness competition, I should try reading books while cycling on the stationary bike. Or kickboxing to some Curtis Allen.

Europe

Well. I'm home from Europe. As I expected, I'm crashing emotionally and physically after a 3 week dash across a huge mixture of cultures. No, I don't have pictures yet, but I'm working on that, and yes, I had "fun." Now, define fun. Or not. Let's just say that I'll enjoy it more tomorrow, and yes I want to travel again. A week in Barcelona...a few months in Germany...hey, revisiting Paris might not be bad, since I don't remember anything...and London has more to offer than 3 hours of wandering, I'm sure...um, what's on the other half of the hemisphere, anyway?

Note to self: You enjoy people more than pictures or monuments. Next time you travel, make people the priority. Pictures should capture the moments you shared with people, not make cheap images of fantastic objects.

P.S. Nature can sometimes be better than people, even. When you get stressed out, fly to the Swiss Alps and eat blueberries. Or wander the Mediterranean shores. Or climb cliffs beside castles. Et cetera.