Friday Five

December 6, 2013 in Friday with 1 Comment

friday

1. This is precious.

2. Apparently there’s a 24-hour version of this. I didn’t watch it. I did watch this 4-minute version:

We Are From L.A. / PHARRELL WILLIAMS / HAPPY from iconoclast on Vimeo.

3. Need to know what board game to play? There’s a flowchart for that.

4. Did you see Sound of Music with Carrie Underwood last night? I thought it was a good effort. Lydia and I made our own version:

5. Favorite tweets from November:

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Advent: Hope

December 5, 2013 in Christmas, faith, holidays with 1 Comment

hope

Traditionally, the first week of Advent is about hope. It makes sense that we would lead with hope because Christmas is all about hope.

It’s Christmas that taught us to hope. As kids, Christmas was one of (if not the) first things we learned to anticipate, to wait for. It was a practice in faith and hope–we knew it was coming but it was not there yet.
It’s Christmas that was hoped for. Since the first sin, since the covenant, since the law, since the prophets, Christmas was anticipated. The world waited for the Messiah. The world waited for Christmas.
It’s Christmas that gives us hope. The Word became flesh and lived here on earth with us. God with us, Emmanuel. It is because of Christmas that we have the hope of salvation and relationship and eternal life with God.
Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear desire of ev’ry nation,
Joy of ev’ry longing heart.


 

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Friday Five

November 29, 2013 in Friday, holidays with 0 Comments

friday

It’s kind of been a short week for the internet (and I just realized it is Friday about 10 minutes ago), so we’ll see if we can get five things…

1. This is fantastic:

 

2. Here’s a strategy on how to find Waldo more quickly. Because this is what happens when millennials grow up and get degrees to study things.

 

3. An Honest Trailer for Home Alone:

 

4. Your Best Story. I’ve always found this to be true.

 

5. I’m a contributor to a (sorta) new pop culture website: Culture Poppe! Here are two fun little posts about what each of the contributors do for Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

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Thankful 2013

November 26, 2013 in friends, holidays, Lessons Learned, musings, work with 1 Comment

madewithOver

These are things that I’m especially, specifically thankful for this year.* In no particular order.

  • Netflix. I finally got a subscription and was able to finish Friday Night Lights, among other things. FNL alone would have been worth it. 
  • Friends. I know this is a major one that I usually leave out because it’s a constant, but I am especially thankful for friendships this year. I wrote plenty about friendships last month, so I won’t expound upon this much. But I am grateful for friends this year especially.
  • Glasses. Contacts stopped fitting/working for me sometime last year. I’m still trying to figure out a solution, but for now I’m thankful for glasses.
  • Answered Prayers. I’ve seen some prayers answered this year in big and small ways. Each could be its own post, really. But it is fun to see how God answers our prayers perfectly, even if it’s not the answer we originally wanted.
  • Fun Projects. Vlogs and blogs, mostly. I am thankful for the friends I get to do them with and thankful for the fun they are.
  • CHURCH. This one has been hard work, but I am thankful for my church home. We’re brand new, but it is fun and challenging to see a church grow and figure out how to be a church, a loving church.
  • Texting. I feel like I’ve texted more this year than ever and it has been a major catalyst in many of my relationships. As a visual, word person, texting may be my love language. At the very least, it’s one of my preferred methods of communication.
  • Facebook Messages with MeLissa. Someday, we might let you read them. For now you just have to trust me that they are beautiful and funny and encouraging and challenging and real and loving. I am thankful for them (and, of course, MeLissa).
  • Coffee Shops. I am thankful for places to sit and work/waste time for a few hours. I am thankful Nashville has a million of them for us to review on Coffee Shoppers. I am thankful for the Gold Card so I get a free drink every so often.
  • My Job(s). I got a new job (major announcement alert). I am thankful for the job I left. It was exactly right for me at that time. I am thankful for the people I worked with and the people I got to serve alongside, all the people I got to know and call my friends. I’m thankful for the behind-the-scenes view of God’s work in the local body of believers. I am thankful for the kids I got to play with and laugh with and teach. I am thankful for the encouragement of all those friends when I said I was leaving. I am thankful for my new job. It is fun and exciting and I’m looking forward to the challenges it will hold. [I am also thankful for freelance jobs that played a major role in my life this year. They were each a fun challenge and I loved getting to do them and work with all the great people who contracted me to work.]

I have definitely been blessed this year. This list only covers 10 of the things I’m thankful for….and not even necessarily the top 10.

What are some things you’re especially, specifically thankful for this year? 

*Therefore, some major ones are left out because this is a very specific list each year. Not because I’m not thankful for God’s love and my family. I am. very much. every day. every year. 

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Friday Five

November 22, 2013 in Friday with 0 Comments

friday

1. 852 pictures, from 852 Instagram users. This just goes to show you how we all take the same pictures:

2. The Ministry of Being Okay, by MeLissa. Extra points for an excellent title.

3. Y’all know I’m a fan of the Holcombs (and their Neighbors). Well, Ellie Holcomb is making a record and she’s doing it through Kickstarter. She’s already met her goal, so now it’s just going toward making it even better and spreading the songs (based on Scripture) out wider. If you want to, contribute. If not, you should at least watch the video. It’s adorable.

4. How Friends Decided to Pair Off Monica and Chandler. A fascinating look behind a decision to alter the fate of some of our favorite characters. Maybe it’s the writer in me, but I’m always interested in the thought processes behind stuff like this.

5. Y’all have heard of Dinovember, right? I love it. This is the kind of parent I would like to be.

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Friday Five

November 15, 2013 in Friday with 2 Comments

friday

1. This is what happens when Lydia and I disagree:

2. Shawn Smucker is blogging again. Go subscribe, if you aren’t already getting his posts.

3. Cuteness via Jamie [watch it until the end...it's only 15 seconds!].

4. Why Creative People Sometimes Make No Sense. I can identify.

5. I can’t decide if this is going to be amazing or a complete disaster:

What do you think?

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Friday Five

November 8, 2013 in 31 Days of Friendship, Friday with 0 Comments

friday

1. I always wanted to do this when I played soccer. It seems so easy and like it would be common sense strategy.

2. “Does she sing because she knows the sun is coming?” So, so good.

3. The Strand bookstore was one of my favorite stops on my last trip to NYC. I thought this article/video on their social media strategy was interesting. Also, I really hate I didn’t get to experience “book row.” #nerd

4. Because Fridays are for smiling: photos of wet dogs.

5. This is an old video that I found on a rabbit trail of spoken word poetry on YouTube and I am furious I didn’t find it before the #31Days of Friendship was over because it is SO PERFECT. ugh. [It's a little long, but worth it to stick around to the end.] Anyway, enjoy:

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Friday Five

November 1, 2013 in Friday with 0 Comments

friday

Thank you all for your patience. I know it was a struggle to get this far into your Friday (the entire workday!) without the Five. My apologies. I’ll try not to do it again (at least, you know, next week).

1. First, Halloween is over. But that does not mean it’s time for Christmas music. There is another holiday that deserves its moment in the spotlight–Thanksgiving. So, in case you’re a new reader since last year, I present you with a Thanksgiving Playlist by Lydia and Elizabeth. We add to it periodically, so you should subscribe. It’s perfect for sipping Pumpkin Spice Lattes and ignoring the fact that you can already mail a letter to Santa in Macy’s.

2. This video of Tom Hanks with an autistic fan is precious. If you didn’t love him before (How could you?!), you should after watching this. He is so gracious. As Jamie would say, Tom Hanks is a TREA-SURE.

3. Okay, this is my new favorite Tumblr. I discovered it the other day and spent several minutes laughing out loud (literally), a few times to the point of tears. I don’t know why it’s so funny, but it is. I present to you, “Terrible real estate agent photographs.”

4. This is amazing:

5. Now, favorite tweets of the month:

tweet Oct 1

tweet Oct 2

tweet Oct 3

tweet Oct 4

The next few are from a hashtag. As a part of a church plant, I found most of these hilarious. Mainly because they’re so true.

tweet Oct 6

tweet Oct 5

tweet Oct 7

tweet Oct 8

tweet Oct 9

What was your favorite tweet this month?

Is there a song that NEEDS to be in the Thanksgiving playlist? 

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Keeping in Touch

October 31, 2013 in #31Days, 31 Days of Friendship, friends with 2 Comments

As the last post in the #31Days series, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about keeping in touch. When you graduate or friends move away or you move away, you need a method to stay in contact, to know what’s going on, to maintain your friendship. In today’s world, there are so many ways to stay in touch. I’m going to make a list.

1. Facebook (or other social media).
This is really the easiest way. You’re probably already friends on there and this way, you can easily keep up with what’s going on in the life of your friend. You know if she has a baby, she’ll post a million times about it. If he gets engaged, you will find out when he updates his relationship status. Social media allows us to know everything from major life developments to minor things, like what you’re thinking right now. If you still shared a dorm room, you’d know that stuff anyway. Facebook is like a dorm room for all your friends…or something like that.

2. Email.
I have a couple of friends I email. Sometimes, we converse via email over the course of a day, sometimes its more like a “Hey, any major life developments?” after a month or two. It’s not the most romantic thing in the world, but it is nice to have a way to communicate basically instantly in long-form (longer than a text or tweet, that is).

3. Snail Mail.
I say all the time that I’m going to get better at doing this. I need to just make it a goal to use a book of stamps every two months or something. Fact: Everyone likes getting snail mail. Especially when we hardly ever get anything in the mail aside from bills and ads. It’s a way to instantly bring a smile to someone’s face for only $.45 (or it may be more than that. Another fact for you: I cannot remember how much stamps cost. No matter how many times I google it.).

4. Phone Calls.
This is a time commitment. And I know it’s old-school and most of our generation is opposed to phone calls (I still am most of the time). Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. for friendship. To hear your friend laugh or sigh or get passionately loud about something is worth talking to them over the phone. I really only have one friend that I consistently talk to on the phone and it’s about once every 3 months, so maybe I’m not the one to talk. But I always enjoy that.

5. Texts.
I love texting. I think it’s so fun that you can send a piece of conversation any time. And it’s just a piece. Sure, you can have full-fledged conversations via text, but some of my favorites are random things that my friends think of or do or see and it makes them think of me and that one time. You know. It’s just a little way to say, “Hey. Thinking about you.” and bring a smile to someone’s face without being all cheesy like this sentence.

Those are the main ways I communicate with my friends and keep in touch. What about you? What’s your preferred method? Did I miss how you and your friends keep up with each other? (Please, someone mention a code and flashing lights or traveling pants or something…)

 

31DaysFriendsThis post is part of the #31Days Challenge. Check out more #31Days blogs here. See the list of all 31 of my posts here.

 

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On Losing Friends

October 30, 2013 in #31Days, 31 Days of Friendship, friends, Growing Up with 1 Comment

Here’s the sad truth: sometimes friends are not forever. Even best friends.

We lose friends to death. We lose friends to conflict. We lose friends to distance and to growing up.

Mourning the loss of a friend to death or even to conflict is something the world understands. The person is gone. A wound is left. Eventually, the wound will heal, but there will be a scar. Your future friends may notice the scar and you can tell its story. The story of a friend that is no longer here, or no longer a friend. They’ll nod, knowingly, and perhaps show you their own scars. They understand because they can see it.

Mourning the loss of a friend to distance or growing up is different in that there is no wound. It may happen because of something very un-wound-like, happy, like a wedding or a new job. You realize, raising your glass to toast their blessing that your friendship is about to change with their last name or address. You smile, though, because maybe your friendship will be different. You promise to make it so. A year later, you realize your friendship succumbed to the same fate as the old last name and address. They’re all in the past together. And you are here.

Or maybe the loss is just due to growing up and growing apart. Circumstances, surroundings, interests change. People change. These friendships are generally lost gradually. You don’t even realize they’re gone until you look back from a distance and can’t remember the last time you spoke.

No wounds means no scarring. It’s more difficult to explain. It feels silly, selfish even, to mourn someone who is still here. You are probably even facebook friends. But the thing is, losing friends, even this way, is painful. Once you realize this person is no longer the one to text with good news or call for advice, there is reason to mourn. You may not have a scar to see, but it hurts.

But know that some friendships are like that. They are for a specific time in our lives. Maybe that time is a few years, a few months, or even just a few minutes when you really need a friend–that friend–in your life. Lifetime friendships are wonderful, but oh-so-rare. Friendships that last only for a season are beautiful in how they come into our lives at just the right time. It’s okay to mourn that they are gone, but we should remember to celebrate them while we have them. Friendship is not always forever, but let’s act like it is.

 

31DaysFriendsThis post is part of the #31Days Challenge. Check out more #31Days blogs here. See the list of all 31 of my posts here.

 

 

 

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