yay for love and growing up...

hello you...all.

i've always loved technology. or rather the convenience of it. i love it even more when i have time to partake of it. which i don't anymore. ever. but for huge announcements, tis' nice...like now=) for those of you who don't read brandon's site...woot, i'm getting married.=) see, now like 20 people can read this and i don't have to make 20 phone calls...20 MORE phone calls. good grief, we know alot of people...but how wonderful it is=) we'd love to have everyone who loves us and vice versa come celebrate with us on Sept. 29th. So if we love you and vice versa, send me an address and i'll send you an invite. yay.=)

Currently Listening Not to Us By Chris Tomlin see related

hello all...guess it's about time for me to show myself again=)

our friendly xanga people have informed me that i have been a xangan for 302 days...that means it's been a year since i've been in REACH. talk about weird. i've been reading current REACHers xanga sites...talk of the 5 hour prayer walk, Manna Cafe, Gustavo, and Henry Shrock almost makes me want to do it all over again...then i think rationally, and laugh. i will never regret my REACH experience and i'm still in awe of all God accomplished, but i'm happy being here, in this place, now.

i've been working at the Refinery Cafe for over a month now. there is never a dull moment...between my boss and the wonderful Maryanna, i'm starting to consider myself a rather calm person. along with my daily companions, the amazing hours, interesting people, incredible coffee, steaming baked oatmeal, getting to put my baking skills to use, and always running out of mandarin oranges makes this pretty much my dream job. i really love it...and i count myself beyond blessed to be able to say that. if you're ever in the goshen area, come see me...i'll hook you up with out of this world coffee...

i'm in the midst of looking for a church right now...if you think about it, pray for me. somedays it's hard to know which way is right, even when you know it's what God's asking of you. i'm also getting involved in the lives of a single mom and her girls...they've been through hell, and i'd love to inject some hope into their lives. i'm excited, cuz it's a passion God's put in my heart, yet some days are daunting...

generally i'm not a huge fan of people gushing about their significant others...i won't either, but i will say...i really really like mine=) it was 3 months this past sunday and it's one area of my life that never fails to amaze me. relationships are so RAW, so vulnerable, so hard, yet so beautiful...

does everyone have a soul mate? or soul mates? will marriage always be harder than dating? maryanna and i were discussing this today and we kinda ended up on opposite sides. anyone else want to ADD to the discussion?

Currently Watching Love Actually (Widescreen Edition) By Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colin Firth, Gregor Fisher, Martin Freeman (II), Jill Freud, Sienna Guillory, Keira Knightley, Andrew Lincoln, Rory MacGregor, Heike Makatsch, Kris Marshall, Frank Moorey, Bill Nighy, Joanna Page, Lulu Popplewell, Nina Sosanya, Emma Thompson see related

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  *II Corinthians 12:10*

So I really like Paul...he was an amazing God-follower. His books in the Bible are chock full of all this great stuff...that usually wind up kicking me in the butt. The past few weeks have been really rough for me. I'm weary, weak, and so ready to be done with this battle. So often I find myself in a blue funk, completely unmotivated, or just plain discouraged with living. Many people have encouraged me, empathized, and told me that when life is hard it's natural to feel these things...after all, I'm human! But I have a feeling if Paul was sitting in my living room, he'd look at me and say, "Monica! Take pleasure!!" Far be it from me to discount Paul, but my first reaction every time I read this verse is, Dude, you have got to be kidding. But he's not and it's still there in black and white. So here I go again, doing my best to take pleasure, praying to God that it makes me strong.

I have a few more to add to my "good things" list.

     *Meredith's fabulous, unconventional sideways hugs.

     *My sister's amazing songwriting skills. Seriously go to her site (sucarsweet) and check out her latest entry...she wrote it!!

     *Seeing so many awesome people at Conference...go Mennonite world!

     *Hanging out with the greatest boyfriend in the world.

     *Barista jobs.

Anybody wanna put in their two cents about divorce, dating after divorce and remarriage?

Take pleasure!

Currently Watching The New World see related

hi.

somehow xanga has lost it's appeal. of course, i still love to read everyone else's posts and comments, but it takes extreme butt kicking for me to talk about me. selfish, isn't it? i'll try and do better.

life's not extremely interesting...no, that's not true. life doesn't excite me right now. it hurts my head, stresses me out, makes me tired, but doesn't really excite. an amazing person reminded me last night that life will always have hard times, but to each hard time there is an end...and at that end is a weary, exhausted, but stronger person. the fun part is reminding myself that strength comes from the not extremely interesting times. does any one else find this life of His slightly upside down at times?

$5 blankets from Goodwill...air conditioning...ice cream from the fair...people who love me...a possible barista job...Max Lucado's Gentle Thunder...Cocomochanut Big Train's from my favorite coffee shop...really beautiful flowers...my best friend's engagement...another friend's happy pregnancy...a clean car...laughter...grace...hope...i lied. there are a few exciting things in my life...

i get to see my bestest friend in the world in 2 1/2 days...and spend almost 5 glorious days with him some things are beyond exciting and deserve a paragraph all their own. you can't tell, but, i'm pretty stoked... (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

which is better, beef jerky or buttered popcorn??

Currently Listening Me and My Gang By Rascal Flatts see related

i think he loves me, guys...what do you think?

ps...little secret...i love him at least as much...if not more...and yes, we have won the award for sappiest couple ever. hope ya'll still love us=)