Trips to Disneyland with season pass: 1

Weeks of work training completed: 3

Work “tracers” processed: 10 (woo hoo!)

Work “tracers” disapproved: 1

Necessary conversations that happened: 1

Movies watched: 1 (“Walk the Line”)

NASCAR races watched: 1

NASCAR races possibly attending: 1

New songs purchased: 15

And that pretty much summarizes my week…Arabic starts TOMORROW! Yikes! 🙂 We’re having our yard sale tomorrow as well. Sunday may be an incredibly awesome day (more details to come), in addition to church and all that good stuff. Talked to my dearest friend last night for the first time in a long while…got some things straightened out, and got rid of some lingering bitterness. All is well now!

It’s been a great week!

Heard this song for the first time today…wow–has anyone else ever felt this way? (I know the answer to that question!)

“Stained Glass Masquerade”
By Casting Crowns

Is there anyone that fails
Is there anyone that falls
Am I the only one in church today feelin’ so small

Cause when I take a look around
Everybody seems so strong
I know they’ll soon discover
That I don’t belong

So I tuck it all away, like everything’s okay
If I make them all believe it, maybe I’ll believe it too
So with a painted grin, I play the part again
So everyone will see me the way that I see them

Are we happy plastic people
Under shiny plastic steeples
With walls around our weakness
And smiles to hide our pain
But if the invitation’s open
To every heart that has been broken
Maybe then we close the curtain
On our stained glass masquerade

Is there anyone who’s been there
Are there any hands to raise
Am I the only one who’s traded
In the altar for a stage

The performance is convincing
And we know every line by heart
Only when no one is watching
Can we really fall apart

But would it set me free
If I dared to let you see
The truth behind the person
That you imagine me to be

Would your arms be open
Or would you walk away
Would the love of Jesus
Be enough to make you stay

I really love Casting Crowns, and I just bought their “Lifesong” album yesterday (not sure why I waited so long)…they sing about real problems within the Christian church today–they aren’t afraid to speak the truth.

They really make you think…

It isn’t often for me that something like this happens so close to my hometown, which is in Northern California. I really pity this child, actually, because he may never really know his parents. Anyway, just thought this was bizarre, and it happened in Redding, which is 30 miles from where I grew up.

I miss my friends…after graduation, all but 2 of my friends moved elsewhere. Many are married now. Life is so different. And I am beginning to wonder how I am going to establish new friendships here in Glendora–because everyone I know seems to fit into one of these categories:

(1)–my friends from APU (who will move away or already have)…my friends who are still so dear to me, and with whom I share so many memories. I miss our late night talks, our fun and crazy adventures, our incredibly deep and close friendships, etc. Granted, two of them still live in Covina, but our schedules are so different that it makes it really hard to hang out.

(2)–people my age at church. They have all lived in this area their whole lives (as far as I know) and they have their established groups of friends. We hang out occasionally, but I kinda feel like I’m just a friend “on the side”…

(3)–people I hang out with, go camping with, etc….I am beginning to wonder if they merely tolerate my presence, or if they really want me around. I truly love these people, and we have a great time…but I can’t seem to establish deeper friendships with some of them and it hurts. I don’t know what to do–back off, keep things the same, etc…I am sometimes afraid that they are different people to my face than they are behind my back. I know that sounds bad–and I don’t mean it that way. I don’t think that they are like the girls on “Mean Girls”–I am just honestly wondering what they think about the “kid” who hangs out with them.

(4)–people that I know only through blogs. I would LOVE to meet some of the people that I communicate with through blogs and through reading theirs. I don’t know if it would be weird to meet someone under those circumstances, but I have “met” some incredible people through blogs lately, and I think that there are some promising friendships around the corner. 🙂

I know this sounds like a pity party, but believe me, it’s not. I am just realizing that I don’t know where I’m going to meet people down here. I’m not in college anymore, there aren’t many people my age at church…maybe I’ll meet some people at work, but who knows.

I need to investigate some college/young adult groups at some of the big churches around here. I love friends…I love having deep conversations…and I love learning about other people and hearing about their lives. But right now, I really feel that I am lacking in these areas, and I want to solve that problem.

Any suggestions would be gladly welcomed!!

Well, week two of training is over…it’s been a mostly good week–definitely ups and downs!

Thank you to those who have contributed to this . It has been so fascinating to see what people see in me–because many of those things I do not see in myself. What an interesting study!

I also came across this article today, and I didn’t realize that it was up on the APU website yet. I was asked to write this article for our Tunisia team after we returned to the States, in order to share about our experience. All the mission teams wrote an article, and they can be accessed through this link.

This weekend will be fairly relaxing. I may try to squeeze a trip to Disneyland in somewhere, so that I can get my season pass. We are having a yard sale on Saturday, and I have a few little things to sell…so maybe I will make some money! Sunday I am singing on worship team (which I do 3/4 weeks a month) and I am singing a solo for the offering time. I think I am going to sing an Alison Krauss song, live (not to a tape). I love to sing, and I know that this is one way that the Lord can use me, so I do it. 🙂

All in all, I’m glad this week is over. It’s been good, but rough, and I’m ready for the weekend!

I couldn’t resist–here’s one of the Christmas tree burning…you can see the gasoline trail and part of the trees lit up. I’ll post more tomorrow!