Bad day turned around.

i took a nap today after church. i must have been really tired...i never take naps. my mom told me that when i was a kid, she'd never get me to bed. i was afraid of missing out on something. funny. i think i'm the same today.

but this now means that i'll be wide awake tonight until about three or four. i'm thinking more towards four. i hate when that happens.

but i had a really great night tonight. i met some really interesting people and made some new friends. i'm always up for that! But the few people that i got to really talk with tonight didn't make me feel like something was wrong with me. do you ever get that? like you meet people for the first time and you feel like your personality, humor, style, etc is on display for judgement...and you feel what they are thinking by they way they talk to you. i get it all the time...maybe it is just me. but tonight i didn't feel that way. the great conversations that i had, i ended up feeling like they weren't looking at me to dissect me...but looking at me to just hear what i had to say...and i them. it was refreshing. i think preconceived notions about someone jade most conversations...and starts things off on the wrong foot. it actually happens to me all the time...which makes me wonder. haha.

but i was definitely out of my comfort zone tonight...but it ended up working out. i almost bailed and stayed in my warm bed but i had committed to something and i couldn't back out. (i hate when people do that to me...).

all this to say, i'm just rambling...and really have nothing of substance to say....other than, i had a really bad day today, but some really great people tonight turned that around for me.

Cracker Barrel!

Man, I love this place! And I love that I just spent my Saturday night with some amazing folks at one of my favorite places. :)

Yes, I'm lame. I know this.

Forget what you came for?

I got together with some friends tonight and made tacos and cookies. :) I love cooking with friends....

After dinner, we decided to watch "Chocolat." I hadn't seen it since it was in the theaters back in 2000. All I remember from watching it then was that I left the theater inspired. So, I really looked forward to that feeling again tonight.

But I ended up feeling something slightly different when I left my friend's house...

For those who haven't seen the movie (I recommend that you run out to your friendly video store or get it on netflix), the movie is about a woman who comes into a repressed (for a lack of a better word) town set in 1950s France. This town is subdued by the notion that in order to worship the Lord, they must deny themselves of almost anything that brings pleasure and/or joy. These things were not found easily in this town. These people were empty. This woman...just through her presence...changed everything.

Halfway through the movie...watching piety at its finest...i felt that this woman represented Christ more through her love of the town's people than the religious authority stifling the people. Her heart was to see the people live life to the fullest...create, dance, sing, love, laugh, cry...Live!

I want to be someone that breathes life into others. That's what Christ did when He roamed the earth...so why wouldn't His followers do the same? Why would we bog ourselves down with do's and don'ts? Why does there have to be formulas? And equations of how life is to be lived? Last time I checked, God made me much different than He made you...with a different purpose...and different role. Why do I have to live like you do? And conversely, why would you have to live like me? Why do we have to follow the rules just for the sake of following the rules? Didn't Christ break rules? He was the biggest rebel of His time and i absolutely LOVE that about Him!

Now, I must change gears for a minute and address all of you rule followers. Don't get me wrong...I'm huge on authority...and respecting that...but...BUT...I'm not talking blasphemy here. I do believe that Christ followers are called to live holy lives...we are called to sacrifice and have self control...in some areas. But not in living...truly living. Not in dreaming. Not in loving others. We are called to live with and without abandon.

So let me ask you this question. Have you forgotten about that thirst? Is your forgetfulness just creating noise for others? Are you a loud gong? Or...

Or, is God using you to bring life to others? If the answer is no, I can tell you with 100% certanity that He wants to do that through you. If you let Him, you'll never be the same.

i love my job and other such craziness.

reason #954 for loving my job:

I get a membership to the YMCA that is walking distance from our "office" in Vickery. I say office quite loosely...We work out of a condo and I sit on a couch with my lap top with the fire 'ablazin. Life is rough. (I praise Him everyday...He is too good to me)!

Today my boss Jen and I went to the Y after work to do a step class. Two things I realized...I'm out of shape (more on that later) and I'm not as fast as I used to be at picking things up. This has made me rethink my idea of taking a Hip Hop class. That could turn into a disaster...hmmm.


In other news...rather late last night I got home after hanging with some friends after 7|22. Lately my gate remote aka clicker, has been acting crazy-like. This normally isn't too much trouble since the gate is open 90% of the time anyway (gates are a false sense of security anyway...). Well, it decides to not be a friend and work for me. Dang...so, i realize that i would have to call my roomie and wake her up to let me in the gate. So i give her a call. Mid-ring, my remote decides it would be nice and it opens. I hang up the call box calling Autumn..

Cut to about an hour ago less than 24 hours later...Autumn comes to my bedroom door and asked about the phone call she received late last night from the gate. I tell her the story...this is her response...

"So, let me ask you a question, kelli. why didn't you just call yourself and let yourself in?"

ummmmmmmmm, yeah.

Because that would make sense....that's why i didn't do it.

Sometimes I wonder where my head is...

;)

99x

I am mourning today. Mourning the loss of 99x. They lied to us.

I thought Q100 didn't take over until Friday. But no! Much to my dismay this morning, I heard the Bert Show on 99.7 FM. They jumped the gun.

This is not cool.

I remember sitting in my sister's bedroom staring at the radio when they went from Power 99 to 99X. Good times...good times.

Where am I gonna listen to good rock music? Where?!

Craziness in the Kitchen

The kitchen is a hot mess right now. It actually has been quite the adventure trying to figure out which dishes to use that aren't covered in dust. The most interesting part to me is finding all of the 70s and 60ish wallpaper that was hidden by the cabinets. There were some happenin' people living here back in the day.

I look forward to the next project Autumn has up her sleeve.



Having the dishwasher back where it belongs (up and running that is) will be the excitement of the month. :)

Enough?

How I live sometimes communicates that I believe that there is something bigger and better than Jesus.

Some of it comes out of fear. Some of it comes out of insecurity. But why am I insecure in my relationship with Christ? Of all the relationships in my life, that is the one I should have complete confidence in His love and grace towards me. What about fear? Fear tells Him that He isn't enough for me. But He is. He is enough. He's enough for my brokeness...for my heartache...for my joy...for my tears....for my laughter. He is the love of my life! He is it! Why do I live like He isn't?

I think one of the biggest lies of satan is that Christ isn't enough...that there is something more out there (money, spouse, fame, etc) that we need. I don't need any of that. I need Him. I want Him.

My prayer is that I'll live a life that amplifies His name through my satisfaction in His love.

As I heard John Piper say once, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."