A love for everyone

Yesterday, we were outside while my friend rode her scooter. An elderly man pulled up in a 10 passenger type van to a house down the street. She passed him on her scooter and came back to me and said,

"Ohh. Loren do you see him. He is so cute and good looking. I think he could be my boyfriend."

me: "Do what?"

"That man, I think he should be my boyfriend...do you see his van and all the seatbelts."

me: "yes"

"Well I'm pretty sure that means that he has lots of kids"

I just hope our staring at the man was a self-esteem booster rather anything else.

rain. lysol. more rain.

Today, it's raining. And I could not be more thankful to be inside my blessed apartment. No class. Just a morning of coffee, beth moore, blogs, CLEANING, laundry, list making, kings of leon, ben rector, owl city, bon iver, norah, the avett bros, gift wrapping, card making, and all avoidance of going outside and getting wet. I love the rain, only when I can enjoy it from inside.

I can speed sort my laundry. Found that out today. I love doing laundry. Except on the days when I do not.

And I love the smell of comet and lysol.

I have a physical...inability-to-move type reaction when I'm learning of new ways to make things and craftiness and being creative with my hands. Oh my goodness, I just enjoy it so much. Why can't I just do that for a living haha. Welp I'm working on a few things right now, here and there, pardon my lateness for some of you (melanie, I think its been over a year since you asked me).

I'm sorry for the random thoughts that just flew out of my fingertips. I just know that a few certain friends and roomates are about to bust a gut if I tell them one more random thought that just has to be told. I can't keep them to myself. I just cannot.

Its time to brave the undrainable roads of Lubbock and pick up some kiddos from school. Some days we have discussions of whether or not we'll make good decisions for the next few hours while I am there. Some days I get a 'yes', or a 'yes maam', or a 'duh'. I get to hang out with the neatest and sweetest two children everyday.
Love them to pieces.

Marriage

What is the point of a marriage? Oh, my, do we really want to delve in to that thought (did I just make up a new word)? I know, you're probably thinking what is she thinking, she has no idea what she's talking about. Girlfriend's not married. You are so right! I have no idea about a smidge of what a marriage consists of (pardon the grammar). But I am surrounded by it. And I know the truth about one marriage.

It's the one between Jesus Christ and His church. Have you heard of it? I know for most of us, at first, it can be a strange thought to think of that covenant as a 'marriage'. But that's exactly what we call marriage, right, a covenant between a man and a woman?

Hold on, right quick, can I just share something for you to chew on, for me, for us to chew on really. Please read this with a confidence, 'Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude in mind Christ Jesus had: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross!' - Philippians 2:1-8

I wish I could say I'm able to exemplify half an ounce of that.

Oh, Christ died and rose again for his bride, his wife, his church (props to my friend Lauren for that thought). That doesn't mean we should be sitting back thinking, Wow that is great to see a relationship like that. That's just too bad that mine can't ever be similar. God created marriage, and for it to mirror that.

Let me reiterate, I know that I know so little about marriage, and I won't understand much about it until I am immersed in one myself. But I know that there are good times, not so good times, seasons, confusion, hurt, bitterness, a whithered spirit. Times where one wants to just walk away. It's too much. I believe in a God who restores. I believe in a Father who renews the nonrenewable. I believe in a God who places people in relationships for a reason, whether it be a friendship, dating, sisterly, a marriage. But a marriage, oh a marriage, what a brave and courageous journey to be apart of with another person. And if you have children, can we say brave times a million. I know that a marriage is between two people, but the effects it has on others, specifically children (adult children too), is huge. simply huge.

Please believe this. Please know that you are an example of Christ and his bride, the church. You are an example for your kids no. matter. the. age.

You are an example for me.

{I would like to thank all of those marriages that are apart of my life, whether 'new' or 'not so new', the ones I know best are so encouraging, and so brave, and so real}

Paper roses? Yes paper roses.

Okay yall. I found such a neat paper rose idea from little birdie secrets. In order to wind down from the daily conversations between me and my 5-year-old friend of what happened on hannah montana, or how 'root beard' tastes really bad, or how why we LOVE 'chip-fil-a', or even having to explain why you won't get birthday presents after you die, I decided to try my hand at these. egh. They are really neat to make so I took pictures to make an easy how-to, if you will. Try it. Today. Super easy. Do it.

I have a tendency of impatient scrolling to see the end result of a blog post. at times. So I just put the last picture at the beginning so anyone else who does the same as I do, well here you go. No need to scroll friends.

Seriously, all you need are the following:

-Scrap book paper....I used left over pages from a book I had used for a design project

-Glue

-Scissors

-Hole punch

-Skewer type tool....I just used the end of a long, skinny paint brush

-Sonic drink (optional)

Cut out three, six-petaled flowers from the paper.

Now, if you have a punch that will do it for you, great. If you don't, then just cut them out with your bare hands (mine, as you can see, are terribly messy. I think its a little funky. I like it).

Oh, and hole punch them.

Take the first flower and make ONE cut in between two petals towards the middle of the flower. Sit it down.

With the second flower, make a cut to both sides of one petal as seen above.

With the third, cut off two petals, but make sure they stay together. Meaning, don't cut them separately.

Okay. So now you should have a flower with 6 petals (with one cut). Another with 5 petals. Another with 4 petals. Another with 2 petals. And a single petal all to its lonesome.

Now, pick up that first flower that has just one cut. Put some glue on one of the petals next to the cut. Then take the petal from the other side of the cut and glue those two together.

Now pick up that second flower. Put a little glue on the edge, like so.

Then, do the same as you did with the first flower and fold the other petal (from the other side of the cut) and glue them together. Hold it tight with your fingers for a minute so it'll stay.

Oops. I didn't take a picture of the third flower that should now have four petals on it. You can do it. Pick that up and glue the two petals together. This will make it look like a three-petaled flower.
Now here's where trickiness arrives and pictures come in handy. Grab that long skewer-paint brush utensil and curl the two-petaled flower around it. Just the two edges. Curl them inward.

WARNING: Please disregard the nastiness that is my fingernails. I have not payed any attention to them until now. ugh. gross. please. I know.

I know.

Other side.

Glue the two edges together.

Now it should look somewhat like this.

Now curl the one petal all the way around the stick. no gluing.

Now, take each of the glued flowers and curl each of the edges out a little bit.

You should end up with these.

Now, take (what is now) the four-petaled flower and put glue on the bottom. Then place it inside the five-petaled flower. Sit that down and let it dry.

Then take the two-petaled flower and the one petal. Place a small amount of glue on the bottom, outside of the one petal. Place it inside the two-petal flower and use the end of the skewer to glue them together.

After the bigger flowers have had time to dry, place some glue on the outside of the three-petaled flower and place in inside.

Almost done.

Just take the little glued petals and glue them inside the bigger part of the flower. Feel free to use the skewer to push the petals down or closer to the other petals so they will stay together a little better.

There it is. You can put them on anything. Just something pretty and easy to do it you're feeling crafty.

If you choose to share, please respectfully link it back. thanks!

Love.

That is the Jesus we follow

'...born a baby refugee from the badlands of Nazareth, wandered the world a homeless rabbi, died the rotten death of insurrectionists and bandits on the cross, executed by an oppressive empire, buried in a borrowed tomb. Jesus was crucified not for helping poor people but for joining them. That is the Jesus we follow' - Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne

I hope this honest quotation is a simple reminder of why we have Good Friday, Easter Sunday. Its not just about eggs and the beginning of spring. It's about Him.