Stall Quotations

"All, everything that I understand, I understand because I love." --Tolstoy

Things you find on bathroom stalls. (Who has time for that? Don't you have stuff to do in there?)

No offense to Tolstoy, but I disagree. All, everything I understand, I understand because He loves.

Love

I want to think again of
               dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome


    I want to be         improbable
                                               beautiful
                                                        and afraid of nothing

                                                                     as if I had  w i n g s.

--Mary Oliver

A Needed Reminder

You are good, You are good.

When there's nothing good in me.

You are love, You are love

On display for all to see

You are light, You are light

When the darkness closes in

You are hope, You are hope

You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace

When my fear is crippling

You are true, You are true

Even in my wandering

You are joy, You are joy

You're the reason that I sing

You are life, You are life

In you death has lost it's sting

You are more, You are more

Than my words will ever say

You are LORD, You are LORD

All creation will proclaim

You are here, You are here

In your presence I'm made whole

You are God, You are God

Of all else I'm letting go

My heart will sing

No other name

JESUS, JESUS

I'm running to your arms,

I'm running to your arms.

The riches of your love

Will always be enough

Nothing compares to your embrace

Light of the World

Forever reign

New Years Resolution

In just a couple of weeks the internet is going to explode with blogs about everyone's NYRs. (Yes, that's an abbrev. Get over it.) Page after page on diets and post after post on exercise and keeping the house clean and not biting your nails, and if you're my roommate, not sexting. She is the only person I have ever met to completely follow through on a NYR, and its a good thing too...if you know what I'm saying!

But my resolution this year is different. I stole the idea from some trash magazine at the gym one day (don't judge...how are you supposed to work out on a solitary machine for a half hour without dying from boredom? i'll tell you, it can't be done. hence, trash magazines). This year, I am picking a word and I am going to try to be/do/become that word throughout the year.

Words I have considered (and the reasons they were discarded):

1. sexy (please, I've dedicated my whole life to embodying that word... I need a challenge)

2. hungry (I mean let's face it, that's really what everyone else's resolutions are all about. but I gots to eat. and eat a lot. so that one just isn't going to make the cut)

3. wise (boring.. I'm trying to enjoy being young and dumb. D-U-M dum.)

4. sober (nah.)

5. Witty (have you read my blog? see explanation from #1)

My word for 2012 is...dumdadadum...

BOLD

I want to take every opportunity given to me (no matter what it is), be courageous, be adventurous, RUN outside of my comfort zone, try new things, share the gospel fearlessly and shamelessly, be crazy and foolish and ridiculous and young. I want to live boldly.

So there you have it folks...my NYR. A whole month before the rest of the world even starts thinking about what goal they can set and plan to fail at in a matter of weeks. Talk about ambition.

**Number 4 was a joke. Just in case my parents read this. Gottem'!

Every Girl is a Princess

I live on a rather large quad. My dorm is on one end and I have some friends that live diagonal from me on the other. We've decided that our "quad" is really a castle. We live in different wings with a courtyard in between. So, a few nights ago, Ellen, Mary, and I (we all live in the same dorm--the East Wing) decided to dress up like princesses and walk through the courtyard to "air out our dresses" while speaking in British accents -- as any lady would-- and standing tall in perfect princess posture. (we took our lessons from the Princess Diaries.) We waved to the peasants that walked past us and went to venture through some of the vegetation (in a very lady like way of course) in search of pebbles to throw at our fellow princesses' windows across the courtyard. After some interesting conversations with some service men (where we continued to speak in a British accent and talk as if we were really princesses) and some really strange looks from other students returning to their dorms from a long night of studying in the library (how lame...you're in college. i mean for real.) we managed to rustle up some stones. The other princesses were so happy to see us and invited us into their wing of the castle. And we all lived happily ever after.

Now, let me just paint you a little picture here. These are just a few of the things that occurred on this outing:

1. I was wearing a long night gown (which is supposed to be my Halloween costume this year), Ellen was in a princess prom dress, and Mary was in a long cotton dress. We all had on heels or cowboy boots. (I looked more like grandma down on the farm than a princess, but since we all wore tiaras, it was clear. I think.)

2. I tripped (hard) over my cowboy boots while walking the courtyard. Very lady like let me assure you.

3. We nearly broke a window with our pebbles. Who says princesses aren't strong?

4. When a boy walked past us in the West Wing (the other dorm) I said "Thank you for being here today" and gave a good Princess Mia wave. Mary said, "You're welcome to look."

Definitely princess material.

Post Secret

Ok, so my recent addiction has been Post Secret. If you don't know what it is, look it up because it's awesome. Some of the secrets are heart breaking, some are sweet, some are hilarious, and some are encouraging. (and some are just plain gross, but just skip those!)

This week I have been reminded just how much I have been blessed by the people in my life. I have the very best friends in the world and I couldn't be more grateful.

I worry a lot, especially about leaving things behind, and about being left behind. My encouragement came in the form of a Post Secret this week:

"Sometimes you lose the good things in life to make room for the great ones."

My friends, my family, UNC, RUF, YoPo, beautiful weather, an extended Easter break...these are my great things. Jesus...he is the one thing I will never lose, because there is nothing greater to make room for.

The ULTIMATE Assassin

I wish I could tell you it was me.

For the past 4 weeks RUF has been playing this super awesome amazing game called assassins. Basically you have a target and a hunter. You're hunter is trying to kill you, you're trying to kill your target.

For the first 4 days I walked around completely paranoid: hood up, taking different routes to classes, not going to the library to study, I even found a third dining hall on campus so I wouldn't have to go to the main ones...it was a little ridiculous, but also SUPER INTENSE! Also, in those first 4 days, I made 3 kills. That's right, I was well on my way to becoming the ultimate assassin.

The following are my kill stories (I admit, some are better than others):

Assassination #1

The time was 21:23:14. Crouched behind a black SUV, wet and dripping from the rain, weapon in hand, I waited. My breath even, my heart keeping a steady beat--a true assassin.  As the headlights illuminated the parking lot of the Beta house, I waited as my target got out of his car and began to walk inside.  Then, still out of sight, I bolted across the parking lot, quick as lightning, somersaulting behind cars and army crawling under engines, my target naive and feeling secure. As he approached the door and began to unlock it, I leapt from behind the final car, flung myself into a back handspring--silent like a ninja--and in one skillful landing motion, retrieved my weapon and sprung into the house behind him.  In the same instant, I swung my shiv-carved water transport device with perfect aim, the lethal liquid penetrating his chest--a direct assassination to the heart. Blood began to pour, people began to scream, the house transformed into a state of frenzied chaos.  My unsuspecting victim, dead--a look of fear and shock still frozen on his face as he hit the floor.    Target eliminated. 

 Harrison Holbrook--dances with Jesus 2/24/2011 21:23:14 

Assassination #2

A group of young UNC students were having a s'mores bonfire on Sunday evening when the assassination took place.  The survivors were horrified, a wave of fear is seizing the campus.  A young freshman, one Diana Castano, was assassinated while making a s'more.  Her assassin, who officials believe to be the STJ (send them to Jesus) Killer, allegedly discovered the group's plan to have a bonfire through the social networking site many young people are using these days known as Facebook.  Once the target's location had been affirmed, the STJ Killer stalked through the grave yard coming up behind the unsuspecting students.  After some incredibly intense army crawling, clearly learned through extensive military training, the STJ killer stood up and shot Diana from an incredible distance with perfect aim--a true assassin.  Witnesses saw only minor details, and police only suspect the work of the STJ killer, though they have yet to discover a pattern or cause for the assassinations. So, students of Carolina, take caution, the STJ Killer is still on the loose, and could be coming for YOU.  

Diana Castano: dances with Jesus 2/27/2011 21:06:33

Assassination #3

Roses are red 

Violets are blue 

I waited for 4 hours to assassinate you... 

 ...ok so really like an hour...but it felt like 4... and it was worth every painfully long second. 

Ian Helfrich: dances with Jesus 2/28/11 10:40:38

Assassination #4

It was a last second tip, but the roommate's betrayal was made complete with a text message declaring the target on the move.  As I raced down the path, I saw him approaching.  Unsuspecting, he started to wave hello, only to be drenched with a water grenade, the remnants splattering my accomplice at his side as well.  It was a sad moment, but a triumphant last second victory for the one true assassin--ME.  

Zach Miller: dances with Jesus 15:03:43 March 16, 2011  

It was this past Thursday--that fateful day--when I was completely blindsided by one of my dearest friends.  She assassinated me in the library, and I must give her credit for stealth.  Luckily, she went on to win the game, so my pride isn't too hurt. Haha.

The one downside to losing was that Mary and I didn't get to carry out our ridiculously genius plan to dominate the game.  We had a roommate pact--it was unbreakable.  As soon as one of us got the other as a target, we immediately became a team, eating away at both ends of the chain (hunting one person's hunter and the other's target) until we were the only two remaining.  We then planned a double suicide--each of us shooting each other at the exact same time--both becoming champions of the game. A true team.

But alas, it was not to be.  
Congratulations Sarah on becoming the ultimate assassin.  Well played my friend.