celebration .... (read with very sarcastic tone)

today is my last day of class.......... this was the worst way to spend $400.00 that I could have ever imagined, i could have....bought an awesome purse instead...(or several nice purses and some shoes) yet... how would i ever live without all this amazingly interesting knowledge about cement mixtures...... psi strength.... and fly ash.....

honestly concrete was so much more fascinating when i didnt know anything about it..... i feel like the magician just shared all of his secrets with me .......!

i guess one good thing that came out of the semester of "graduate" school...... i picked the right major the first time.... oh wait, 2 good things..... i have a tax deduction next year.

jubilation.

islander fun.....

so.....another eventful islander event took place today in arizona...... good times...

the women's islander fellowship volleyball tournament fundraiser (i have yet to hear what exactly they were "raising" money for..... it was worth the $5 dollars ...especially when your dad is your team sponsor...thanks dad...and U-first Financial) took place tonight......directly after another nightmarish day of "corrupting children's minds." (I'm just going to leave that one alone).

so..... here is the trophy in its brand-new habitat....my dining room side table! (yea....my team didnt win..but my cousins did and so....we have the trophy...im so proud!!!!)

i was glad to be there even though my team got eliminated in the first round.... the kids got to see me in a different environment/element and i think they can appreciate me a little more.....same with the rest of my ginormous extended family

and i am starting to learn everyone's name.... "clan" to which they belong....(clan as in: mesa, the stapley's, phoenix, dobson ranch etc....we talk about our families according to what area of phoenix they live in now....neat huh?) what island they are originally from (which usually correlates with clan) and how they are related to me (if at all really).... um.... how do you say information overload in micronesian???!!!!

im so thankful for these opportunities to be part of their world.....as frustrating sometimes as the cultural differences can be (i will leave that for some other blog sometime...there are just some things that i will never understand) they indisputably know what it means to be a family through the good, bad, funny, sad and unimaginable (to most americans anyway) drama.

When it comes down to it, what is more important than that anyway? They are a really good reality check. I hope someday that i can be immersed in a group of friends and family just like them.......i hope that the closest people to me will handle the crazy, angry, ridiculous, idiotic, parts of me because they can't live without the good parts of me either ......

book idea #1

while my mind was wandering during bible study tonight i thought it would be great to compile a collection of different christian's experience of god's "randomness"...... i like to call it his randomness.....

i just seem to hear everyone (pastor....aunt....friends....myself...bf) share these stories of random events that mean nothing to them but end up turning into or leading to some kind of life changing experience and can only be seen in hind-sight..... and most of them are really good....sometimes humorous... i think we can all relate

you think anyone would read that? would you read that? or is it too...... chicken-soup-for-the-soul like ??? (a lot of people read those though.....right?)

anyway, im only posting this now bc it came back to my mind at this very moment and i am recording it somewhere that i wont misplace or throw away :)

ok ok ......

i know i ranted about junk emails....but this one i had to put in and it was one of those "forward to 5 people" ones too........ ugh :

Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together

Remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love.

If you send this to 5 people, then you have a chance to touch 5 people.

prayer answered

just returned from a great time with some new friends (although i still want the the 2 hours of my life back wasted on watching time bandits....)

a long time ago i vaguely remember praying and hoping that i could find a church and meet new christian friends to fellowship with...... and tonight i realize thats exactly what has happened... coming home at 2:30 in the morning back then meant a lot of bad things, but not anymore

not much else to say, i heard a great song on the way home in the car (isnt it great when the radio seems to be playing the soundtrack of your life at the exact right moments??) about letting your words be few and just being in awe of jesus

thats exactly how i feel, i just want to enjoy this sense of overwhelming love and power that has completely changed my life

i am a sunday school teacher??

i never thought that sunday school teacher would ever be a way to describe me at any point in my life....... ppl who know me and my lack of affection for kids sometimes....you can stop laughing now.......

today was my first attempt at running a sunday school class (i say attempt because i can humbly say that there was not much accomplished)...the "islander" side of my family holds their own church service in their own language(s) conveniently at the church i happen to attend every sunday "after hours" i like to cleverly call it......

anyway, my very generous aunt becky normally teaches, and its a huge job because there are many kids ranging from ages 4 -12...... complete chaos is the best way to help you visualize this, she's taking a break for the summer...... and now i understand why :)

i dont really want to sound so negative....i mean even though the minute it started i couldnt wait for it to be over..... i enjoyed myself... just trying to get to know them and observe them...feel them out.....i even made a new friend...i mean a kid actually sat by me and hugged me today. thats odd to me, but very satisfying and good to my soul

i pray that these kids will continue to bless me and that this proves to be part of gods plan for me i have so much love in me for them i could burst.......it is difficult for me to imagine somehow conveying this to them by teaching... and reaching them and being a part of their walk with him

the people pleasing part of me just wants to be cool and fun and have everyone like me......!

on a completely different tangent...... i had someone make a comment to me this morning that i was helping to corrupt the minds of children..... it happened so quickly that i was completely at a loss for words.....this is a woman i interact with frequently and have always respected....

im kind of disappointed that i had nothing bold to say....nothing at all........ it also made me realize that i really do have to use every minute of my life to reflect christ in me, to everyone around me....

*very big sigh* my head hurts now that it has dawned on me how many people i know and see and interact with regularly that i never would have pegged as "people that need jesus" (haha....... that sounds so old school southern baptist) but dont truely have him in their lives.....

im addicted to the internet

cool game at discovery.com

my new favorite song...

if you watch Lost.... this game can be time consuming .... didnt really think the results were that great though.... but the combinations are endless

i want to go here and here .....and here ......AND here (again)

my eyes hurt.....im going to attempt to fall asleep now.........