You've gotta swim

Its strange how much song lyrics can strike your heart and pinpoint the hurts, and struggles. This song has done that for me. Even in this song that probably wasn't intended for you to see God in. I see him in most of these lyrics. 

by Jacks Mannequin "swim"

You've gotta swim..

Swim for your life

Swim for the music that saves you

When you're not so sure you'll survive

You gotta swim

And swim when it hurts

The whole world is watching you haven't come this far to fall off the earth

The currents will pull you away from your love

Just keep your head above

I found a tidal wave begging to tear down the dawn

Memories like bullets they fired at me from a gun

A crack in the armor

I swim to brighter days

Despite the absence of sun

Choking on salt water

I'm not giving in

 swim

You gotta swim

Through nights that won't end

Swim for your families

Your lovers your sisters

And brothers and friends

Yeah you've gotta swim

Through wars without cause

Swim for the lost politicians

Who don't see their greed as a flaw

The currents will pull us

Away from our love

Just keep your head above

You gotta swim

Swim in the dark

There's no shame in drifting

Feel the tide shifting and wait for the spark

Yeah you've gotta swim

Don't let yourself sink

Just find the horizon

I promise you it's not as far as you think

The currents will drag us away from our love

Just keep your head above

Just keep your head above

Swim

Nothing makes sense without you. It's like waking up in the dark.

ahhh.....it has been a while since I've posted a blog onto here. hmmm... where to start?
Life has been pretty good. had a fantastic visit to New Mexico(I will say this truthfully...the longer time I spend with Brandon the harder time I have leaving)
I would just like to brag about him(hope you don't mind B) but he is a phenomenal photographer.
 really he is.
 He is doing an art show soon and has printed out a bunch of his picture from Africa and is stretching them himself. (impressive? yup. its pretty dang tough.... he showed me how to do it! )
 but he also has a website.
 with all of his fantastic photos.
 really every single one of them I want(good thing I have the hook up with the photographer=))
haha but no they are great.
take a gander at his website and look through his pictures, your heart will melt when you see them. mine does every time!
 http://brandonstone.me/

on another note.
 Ive been trying to be more spontaneousness.
 A result of that is another ear piercing, staying up late with my roommates and doing things that are very fun, and well you just need to know what Im talking about to understand. but I'm not about to tell you on my blog. (girls...you know what I'm talking about! ), and cutting off my hair at midnight.
 ahhh. here are some pictures.
and why yes I had my roommate cut it off.... thank you gretta!!!

before....

after.

how it looks now!

 (this yes indeed was taken in a coffee shop...come on. the internet at my house isn't working. so I bum off of coffee shops.) 

Despite a few moments of freaking out(ie Gretta starting cutting, I ran my fingers through and started laughing really hard...I tend to do that when I freak out a bit. and kept saying its a nubbin in a pony tail! and staring at the ground thinking "ooh my gosh. there is all the hair that was on my head". ) Kaley and Gretta just kinda stared while I was just saying random stuff. Kaley just kept saying "Christian its so cute. its so cute. I love it!" and so did gretta. Thanks for the moral support in that brief moment of panic.

But I love it.

It will grow back, its hair and it does that.  

But so far so good. whew. 

Pros to short hair:

It takes 10 minutes to blow dry.

I don't use as much conditioner

It wont make a nice little dread in the back of my head

It doesn't get annoying when it gets everywhere like my long hair used to.

Cons to short hair:

Its not long.

So far so good. I like it, 

would like to also brag about another sweet girl I did summer staff with. Her name is Carrie, and would like to say is easily one of the coolest people I know. ps you make one heck of a good cup of coffee.(oh what I Would to do be sitting on the rocking chairs in from of the gold cup chatting about life drinking chai. oh so great) 

She has a quick whit, can make anyone laugh , and has such a big heart, and her love for people its contagious. 

Carrie my dear. I seriously hope we intern together. you are fantastic. and super sad I cannot have coffee with you on a regular basis. check out her sweet blog! 

http://morecarrieplease.blogspot.com/

ahhhhh off to do homework, then class. and hopefully out hot water heater will be fixed today because ice cold showers make my hear hurt. yes I washed my hair in the bathtub today BECAUSE we have 0. I mean 0 hot water. it was so cold the back of my head hurt. what?! why does that happen? 

Hope today is great, and you hum this little number.

 http://www.jjheller.com/home.asp

If you were a boat my darling a boat my darling, I'd be the wind at your back.

This Fantastic album has been on replay for about 2 days now. There are a few songs that I have just fallen in love with. One is called the boat song. I was reading reviews about the album just to see what people said about it and I love this:
"Boat Song" is another beautiful acoustic love song about how she and her husband complete each other, as she sings, "If you were a boat… I'd be the wind at your back."
And its true, its a fantastic love song. One of those songs that makes your heart pitter-patter when you hear it. 
But really JJ Heller is an amazing artist.  and If I am being honest I have been looking at pictures of her hair, because I am thinking of chopping mine off like hers. ( if I have enough guts to do it....)

Grace means your holding me too.

I am sitting at our dining room table with stacks of paper every where around me
(yes, its time to pick classes for next semester, and all that fun stuff)
and I just don't have much ambition to look anymore. So instead I am going to blog. its always fun.

Today I made a fire in our fire place. (it took me a few tries but I did it! ) now I am trying to sit as close to it as possible, or however far my laptop cord will let me go.

I have been eyeballing these adorable rings. And this.

I am wear this a fantastic necklace from Africa.(Thanks B. I love it. )

Cannot Believe how grown up these sweet girls are.
Hales, you look Phenomenal. 

Haley and I
 2 years ago?

I am hoping for snow.
yes crossing my fingers that when I get out of bed and peek out my window that there will be snow on the ground. Had a little bit of over excitement with my roommates last night (or me freaking out and them laughing at me......) that CHRISTMAS is almost here.*and it ended with us playing a game that made us all look like we were drunk. pretty dang funny. Thanks Bekah for the funny games that you learn how to play when you go backpacking.

This past weekend my mom came up to visit me. It was a great time, we laughed. ALOT. especially Make it or break it. I almost peed my pants in Cosco. Pretty darn funny.

                                                off to make food. hope life is fantastic.


* I think its safe to say that I love Christmas. I love the Christmas music, the decorations, all of the stores that have Christmas sales, and last but not least Jesus. everything that comes with it. including egg-nog and a fire. Its the anticipation that leads up to it that i love.

Who will love me for me, not for what I have done, or what I will become.

ITS COLD OUT.

summer is gone.

You know what this means?

Christmas is close.

Eggnog lattes are almost here! (yay! yay! yay!)

Christmas music is going to start playing.

and SNOW IS GOING TO HAPPEN.

I can wear scarves, and gloves, and warm jackets.

sit out side,

 drink lots of hot tea, 

read books,

 and just admire the pretty snow. 

sit next to my space heater when things get a little too cold, then do it all again.

Today was the first day that I could wear a scarf. It was FANTASTIC. 

If you can't tell I LOVE THE WINTER. It is my favorite. 

I get GIDDY( definition: lightheartedly silly or joyfully elated )when I wake up and its over cast out, and its cold. I wanna do a little dance& Sometimes I do.

I really want an eggnog latte. super bad. or just eggnog. 

I feel like this song kinda says where I am in m life right now. http://www.jjheller.com/home.asp

Fall is in the air...

As Kaley(my roomate) and I were driving around the neighborhood looking for furniture
(yes we drive around neighborhoods looking for cast-out furniture. we are in college...come on. and really you can find some pretty sweet stuff.)  


We stumbled upon this telephone pole that was wrapped in beautiful leaves that just scream fall. its starting to get cold in the mornings. and I become giddy when I wake up and its chilly out, and overcast. oh my...my favorite.

And I’ll be wearing white when I come into your kingdom

    This song has been on replay for a few hours.

 LOVE IT. I also am really liking her hair in this video. Super cute. 

I have been eying her hair. Its so dang cute!  

eh. we will see.

These Pictures are amazing. 

 I am going to see this fantastic band play tomorrow night. 

And I got to talk to one of my favorite people today! and it was great. Love my little brother. So proud of the man that he is today. 

You are breaking me down.

 Yesterday it was Brandon and I's one year. We celebrated by going to a thrift store and picking out each other clothes and wearing them out to dinner and a movie. It was pretty fun. The orange shoes and hat really did it, the dress was not bad at all.

He looked fantastic in some really great man capris. and a sweet vest. If we are being honest I would have thought that it would have been a lot worse. ( I was thinking a silky onesie, and a tutu. whew)  But it was fun, we had a great time. It was fun to just be together. I am so excited for the day I no longer have to say goodbye to him. 

So for the present i wanted to do something that was meaningful. Because I mean, come on 1 year is a big deal. 

So I got this idea, from this blog, but just did it my own way, a little bit.and I wanted to do a few trial runs with it I guess.
I think that the one she does is  adorable, and I want to make one for my own house someday(even if some people say it may be tacky) I think its cute. The first one was a tad bit crooked, and yeah. But if you have not heard this song before you should. It is great.






This one was his present, and I really like how it turned out. This was the last one that I made.

This was the 2nd one I made, and I like it a lot more than the first one. BUT i went to a thrift store, found some sweet frames. went to Michaels bought some canvas, and then spray painted the frames the colors that I wanted them to be. Then started painting away. I thought they turned out pretty good.

 I also made him a card. that I really like, and I though that it turned out cute.

I got to go home for a few days, and it was great. To hang out with my sweet brother, and family. It was fun to see them.

We took our Christmas card photo, there are ones with all of us, my dad included.I just didn't wan to to put them up here yet!

Break me into pieces that will grow in the ground

I am sitting on my couch with a cup of warm tea within reach listening to sweet JJ Heller this song is fantastic.(scroll down a bit, then you can watch the live video...its great.such a talented artist)

But last weekend Brandon was here, and it was great. We just hung out together, went shopping, just relaxed. and enjoyed one another. I think its a great sign when you can do nothing and still have fun. Its just the people your with.

Sidenote: I am just so thankful for the sweet girls that I have been introduced through Brandon. At first I was a little weary, as in it would always be guys, Brandon, and me.  But no thank thank the Lord theses guys have significant others who are fantastic.(the guys are fantastic also, and so funny. really I laugh so hard when I am around them!but lets be honest your wives are freakin bomb.)  One in particular is Erin. I didn't know her, but attender her wedding, and then got to know her as our interactions became more and more common. and I am just so thankful for the sweet friendship that has developed. I can truthfully saw that If we lived close to each other, we would be best friends. just love our conversations, and our time together. SOOO excited to see you next weekend Erin!

Its funny to look back through Brandon and I's pictures from the past year.... This picture was the first time we hung out=) such a great weekend together.










Weekly surf:

These pictures are so beautiful, and some so heartbreaking.

This is going to be my next DIY project

I would like to someday have a wall like this, so that I can display adorable family photos.

Loving this vest, and the cute denimn shirt underneath it.

Next time Brandon and I are together... I would like to make this. (even if its for little kids...come on we all don't have fancy ice cream makers!)

These pictures make my heart leap with joy because they are so dang adorable.

Still digging these sweet cameras.


hope your week was fantastic.

Matthew 23:26

yes indeed we are cool. even with awesome face paint.
Today I woke up, got ready talked on the phone to sweet Sarah!  

then rode my bike down to Macys( a great coffee shop that pretty close to my house)

read my book, my bible, and journaled.

Listened to  this great song, while biking

Read in Matthew today, chapter 23 to be exact... and this verse really struck my heart.(maybe because we just talked about it at church on Sunday? great sermon by the way shawn.. )

You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

 Matthew 23:26

but this verse really speaks a lot to me, just in everything that has been going on in my life. so now its written on my hand, so that when I look down I can see it.

Brandons great at photography. and I really love this picture& I was laying in the hammock when he took this! 

his face is priceless. 

A picture that makes my heart smile 

every day when I get onto the internet, this is my new home page

And I am super excited that I get to see Brandon 3 weekends in a row! 

better believe it. 

yesterday was the first day of class,which was great, and now I am off to 2 more classes. looks like my tuesdays and thursdays will be pretty chill. which is awesome. 

My new room!

This is my new room...and I love it! I got this sweet book of stencils that I love so much.... and this color that is just divine. (thanks oops home depot department.... 5 bucks...thats whats up. )

Props: Kaley you are so great at those elephants. and I loved our sweet conversations while stenciling our little hearts out. love you sweet girl. 

Trees

Aren't these adorable elephants? 

Leaves, that I love.

here is a close up of them

all of the sweet little notes that I got from Brandon while he was in Africa....love them! 

Brandons home!

Brandon and I -Canada

Brandon and I Grand Canyon 

Brandon and I Los Alamos 

Brandon and I in Denver

Today is a special day, a day that Brandon comes home! yay!

For those of you that didn't know, he has been in Africa for the past 4 weeks serving, and today he comes home. I say home like I get to see him, but I really don't.

Its so encouraging to be with someone who not only Love Christ, but also inspires you to love Him more. and Brandon encourages me daily, even if he is over 9000 miles way.

Every day I will walk to our mailbox in hopes that I have a letter.

He wrote me these little notes before he left for Africa, and has been having them mailed to me so its like I get to talk to him. (awwwwwww, isn't that so sweet? He is the best... such a great guy)

Going into this I knew that it would be hard for him to come home. (Its kinda like when I do summer staff...but ten times better. Because your going to want to tell everyone about your experience and how you saw Gods hand at work.You can tell them as many stories as you want but really they won't fully understand all of it until they are right there with you by your side.)

But Brandon, I can't wait to hear about it. I am sure a piece of your heart was left there. and you fell in love with the kids you worked with, your heart was broken then mended, tears were shed, of joy and sorrow. But you were exactly where God wanted you to be. you were serving him, every child you threw in the air, every hug and smile you gave. Gods smiling, because He is so proud of you. Thank you for being willing to follow Gods will, and not only serve, but serve in another Country.

 B I have missed you terribly.You will be such a great sight to see.

Brandon and I Lake Havasu (This was our first time hanging out... after camp)

Inspiration

I am currently sitting on my couch, with the office playing in the background, and my eyes are still adjusting from waking up. My little brother is visit me for a few days, and the man inspires me.This is why.

He has shown me what true faith is, how to trust God no matter what. When everyone else is saying take things into your own hands. He turns around prayers, and gives it to God.

I have seen him go from a boy to a man in a month. I could not have been more blessed by our month together.

Challenge California

I have been apart of his baptism, and it was one of my most favorite moments in my life. To be apart of him, making a true statement of his outward commitment to Jesus. It bought tears of joy.

(by the way I would just like to mention I just got up to get my laptop charger, and I have a blister the size of Texas on the back of my foot, and it hurts terribly.... oh goodness..)


In this very moment I could not be more proud of the man my brother is. I know that every path in his life, is going to bring him to Jesus, and a life that is full of promise.

He has a heart for Young Life, and will be a great leader, he is capable of doing so much. I can guarantee you, he will be an amazing leader.

He is my best friend. I wouldn't want any one else as a brother, He is an amazing man of God. whose faith blows me away.

Buddy, you inspire me to be a better sister, leader, girlfriend, daughter, and a follower of Jesus. Thank you for having unfailing Faith in Jesus. People are attracted to that. Love you Bud.

Pictures that make my heart smile

Bekah and I, hanging out next to our fire!

Our sweet Fire, in our back yard!

The sweet girl who I miss terribly. Sarah came out for a nice little visit!



This song will brighten your day:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH0CnjXqCLE

I gave me away.

I have been wanting to start a new blog, just because blogger is more user friendly .

I am starting a new chapter in my life. Which consists of me now living in a new house. all on my own.


There is quit a bit of change in my life...but its been nothing but great. 


I think its great to talk about life,whats going on, and to just be honest. to the 3 people that read this. but whatever.

Right now its almost midnight, and it always seems like I am inspired to being new things at night. when I am tired. but, oh well here I am still typing away listening to a killer playlist from sweet Cass.

I think laughter is the key to a lot of things. Some times its to just bring joy to conversation, or sometimes to lighten the mood.

(I often find my self making stupid jokes at awkward times... but I mean it works.... girls do you remember cabin time? I mean it always called for a dinosaur impression when things get a tad bit too heavy) 
Thank you Sarah for being such a great leader, and being willing to look like a fool. Oh what we will do so kids will love Jesus. 




But I feel like no matter how many jokes I say,how many stupid dance moves I can do, there is a constant. A constant always in the back of my mind, and its that I am His.  there is always something I come back to. This song is it for me. These lyrics, truly say where I am in my walk with Jesus.
"When you walk through the water, I will be with you. When you pass through the river the waves they will not over take you. When you walk through the fire those flames they will not touch you.
 You are Mine. You are mine. "




hope you are encouraged. God loves us so much. Look at the start, the trees,  the sunrises and sunsets. It will take your breathe away. 

New Blog

I am starting a new blog.

This is a link to the old one, If you feel so inclined you can read up on it!


http://christianmarie.tumblr.com/