Today's rant

'Lol-worthy'
Today I shared a pleasant run-in (although I can only speak for myself) with a stranger. A friend and I were trying to kill time before the first night of our new bible study, CrazyLove by Francis Chan. (so excited for this summer reread!). We went to a nearby store for some friendly strolling. While in the men's section, we heard one of the loudest bodily forms of noise pollution possible. :) It was GRAND. I think I blushed a little. There's nothing better than a man realizing his fart didn't go unnoticed as he overhears two girls chuckling behind the clothing racks :)
Had to share.


Celebratory
We also enjoyed a delightful pizookie in celebration of Bree's (short for Brianna) academic goodness . It was nice having another night of girl talk and God talk. Familiar with the unplanned car chats before going home? Those are always the best - and probably the conversations I remember most. Prayer and encouragement. I love those girls. This is the part where I usually insert a photo and talk about each one, but I don't have photos and I have a final at 9am. So until then...'I love you's will suffice.

An Open Door.

photo by Jörg Dickmann

A lot of my studying/writing/reading is done in places like the stairs near my 2pm lecture or the comfortable man-eating sofas in neighborhood coffee shops. My time removed from home was originally initiated by efforts to refrain from falling asleep, eating too much, or looking for that lost sock that seemed so much more important than any of tomorrow's deadlines. After becoming all to familiar - and quite comfortable - with the false idea that I somehow had a social life as I spent quality time alone with my books in public, I found myself unable to study any other way. With exceptions to store hours and laziness, most of my time digging into books exists far from my lovely abode.

Tonight, I am home studying. It's nice. I don't have to wear shoes. My hair is a delightful mess. Snacks are at my complete disposal. And I don't have to take all of my stuff to the bathroom for fear of someone stealing it. In all of that, I've come to realize another influence that keeps me from satisfying any sort of deadlines at home - privacy. But this lacking privacy is a good deficiency. Here's why....

I am the youngest child in a family of five. My brother and sister are married and off doing their domestic sort of things. That leaves me here with my parents and the extra perks of being the last child in the nest. :) It wasn't until recently that I realized how God has been working in my household. Yes, I may be the youngest who probably talks the least at family gatherings and is still the least responsible (shh..). But despite all of that, I see the works of God moving in my household and I wouldn't change that for anything. You see - the dwindling privacy has everything to do with our door always being open to anyone. I love that! In times when friends, family members, and anyone is in need of advice, love, food, company, or just a listening ear - they see our house as a place comfy-cozy enough to drop in. Granted, it may not always be picture-perfect clean, but the hoarder in me finds comfort in the small messes.

My heart's desire is to maintain a house in which people - strangers - anyone - can come and be fed spiritually, physically and all of the above. Every answer will point to Jesus and all glory will be to Him. I won't be a Danny Tanner, but I also won't be on the next episode of Clean House. I will be Ashley - devoted to God's wisdom. There will be tears, burdens, cookies, prayer, love, listening, and maybe a few words regretfully slipped by the usual frustrated visitor. My cooking probably won't be the best, but I hope my love will make up for that.

Someone came over today - he/she wanted to talk. I reminded my dad to answer everything by pointing to Jesus. The best part of it all was hearing (as the song on my Ipod changed - no snooping intended) my dad do exactly that - point to Jesus. I don't know what his/her needs are, or even if there are needs, but I love that because of God moving in our house, He is always the answer. :)


Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 1John 2:8

Thank you to Marcos "bear hugs" for the new header layout. See above.