Akon - Official World Cup Song

Love this Pepsi commercial!!

if....

.... if i was a smoker, i would have smoked a pack of cigarettes by 3pm today.
.... if i was a runner, i would have ran 13 miles without stopping by 3pm today.

today i was so overwhelmed and stressed in the office that i found myself thinking these thoughts as i was putting on my tennis shoes to go out and to finally breathe some fresh air.

nothing like some spring air and a brisk walk to clear my head. what stress....

politics. politics. politics. politics. politics. politics. politics. politics.

a "normal" person

today i give a shout-out to my friend, carol, who made me feel like a "normal" person again..... what a pleasant surprise and blessing to find her in my office after a day of meetings.... seems like the last few weeks have just been a series of meetings, meetings, meetings and more meetings. a meeting for this and a meeting for that and each meeting producing more meetings and more work (now there's a concept!) so that by the time carol came around, i was ready to bolt. so, we just walked downtown, grabbed something to drink, sat next to the new fireplace on 8th street, and absorbed the sun. our conversation was pure catch-up and speculation on why life can't be more simple and free; why we hibernate in our homes avoiding building community; and dreaming what our gardens will look like this summer. for an instance i felt like a normal person, finally having a good conversation with a friend. so, carol, a shout-out to you. thank you!!

i'm somewhat ready to come out of my hole -- my hiding place since my last entry. i've lived in survival mode day by day; a draining and tiring mode, but escaped to out of necessity. my grieving period is getting closer and closer as i anticipate the end of semester and when it finally comes, i will allow myself to release the grief and to start healing. until then, may i trust in the lord that i will finish this race set before me.

david

.... these last 24 hours seem like some sort of a nightmare... i keep praying that i will wake up and see dear david walk through the door - his big smile, his crazy hair. it seems so unreal.... except that it is very real -- it's real as i sit with the students.... and tears run down our faces as we hold each other. it's real when i think of the pain the two families are going through. it's real as we try to figure out what needs to happen next....

i keep thinking about him.

his greatest loves in his young life: 1) God and serving his kingdom, 2) his family in Kenya, and 3) flying.

i will miss him tremendously.... anyone who ever met david was immediately impacted by him and his great desire to serve the lord as a missionary pilot.

i'm exhausted..... more later.

my spirit runs dry

i just sent an email to a friend that went something like this:

My spirit is low these days and I just feel tired .... in part I long for a year of Christian fellowship like I experienced when I lived in Sweden. At this point, being immersed in that type of a setting sounds good again... (never thought I would come back to that point). Anyway, I hunger for the Lord's spirit and for a place to get away. Just to be..... not to have to be on the go all the time or to meet anyone's expectations, but just to be.

Hmmm... the psalm comes to mind. "Be still and know that I am God."

well, so much for starting 2010 off with a bang!

i long for the long walks in the woods of holsbybrunn, for the opportunity to not be responsible, in charge, or required to say, to do, to be a certain way except to learn more about being a child of the almighty and to rest in his presence.

i'm tired.

i miss community.
friendships.
the joy of pure laughter.
fun.

i'm drained and my spirit runs dry.

living water, fill me with your spirit!

i love how clear this water is..... crystal river, sleeping bear dunes, mi

Colors by Whitni Thomas, MK (1991)

I grew up in a Yellow country
But my parents are Blue.
I'm Blue.
Or at least, that is what they told me.
But I play with the Yellows.
I went to school with the Yellows.
I spoke the Yellow language.
I even dressed and appeared to be Yellow.
Then I moved to the Blue land.
Now I go to school with the Blues.
I speak the Blue language.
I even dress and look Blue.
But deep down, inside me, something's Yellow.
I love the Blue country.
But my ways are tinted with Yellow.
When I am in the Blue land,
I want to be Yellow.
When I am in the Yellow land,
I want to be Blue.
Why can't I be both?
A place where I can be me.
A place where I can be green.
I just want to be green.