Tuesday, June 2, 2015

100 Blessings



"It's better to be happy than sad."  Simple, beautiful words spoken by my 100 year old great-great-aunt Pauline Sorenson.  She told my family and I this past weekend as we celebrated her birthday.

I couldn't help but hear her soft voice and listen to family members stories about Pauline and wonder what my life might look like after 100 years.  Would I have saved an eight year old boy from drowning?  Could I be the first woman to do something amazing, like Pauline who was the first woman deputy sheriff in the state of Iowa?  Would people say I loved others like Jesus?  Would I even be alive at age 100, because as reality sets in I'm not even guaranteed tomorrow.

So many times this weekend, I was holding back tears, mainly from happiness, joy, and complete awe.  Pauline saved an eight year old boy from drowning when she was fifteen years old.  This young man went on to serve our country in two different wars and was at her party on Sunday.  He had kept in contact with her, visiting her on her birthday and sending her a Christmas present every year.

She loved her children, grandchildren, and great grand children endlessly.  She spent time teaching them to garden and cut down sunflowers.  She devoted time to make hundreds upon hundreds of outfits for Barbies.  She never spoke unkind words about anyone, always finding the good in a person.  She sent me newspaper clippings she found of my high school and college basketball teams.  She wrote letters to my sister Emily who would regularly correspond updates of our life. 

Pauline was one of those people that would be in Bob Goff's book Love Does.  Love overflowed out of her because of the way her eyes were focused on Jesus.

Happy 100th Birthday Aunt Pauline!  I am so thankful for the way God has used you in so many people's lives!







-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi






















Monday, May 18, 2015

To My Graduating Brother



To My Graduating Brother,

First, I want to say thank you.  Thank you for changing the oil in my car, mowing the lawn so I didn't have to, attending all of my basketball games, and hugging me when I cried.  Thank you for annoying me, asking me questions about English, for telling me all about your Physics project, and calling me on the phone just to say hello.  Thank you for buying me the first two seasons of Boy Meets World, for going on bike rides, taking me on movie dates, and going with me to Big Stuf for now five years in a row.


Next, I want to give you some advice as you head into your first year of college - believe it or not, I've actually thought about what I want to say in this letter for at least 24 hours.  I reflected on my own high school graduation a lot as I was looking back through old pictures and setting up cake at your party.  I hope you appreciate this advice from someone whose "been there, done that!"

Know that just like there was life after the awful, awkward years of middle school, high school will not be the best years of your life.  Even as I head into my last year of college, I know that while college has been a blast, these won't be the best years of my life.  The best is always yet to come.

Your freshman year will be hard.  You will probably fail a test.  You will probably be homesick at times.  You will probably have some annoying guys on your floor.  You will probably sleep through a class.  You might forget to do your laundry and maybe will run on out of clean socks.  You will probably make a bad first impression to people, and you will probably have bad first impressions of other people and wonder if you will ever make friends!  You will probably forget to clean out your refrigerator.   

But your freshman year will also be on the most extraordinary years of your life.  You will pass your classes.  You will make a new home at your campus.  You will get along with the majority of guys on your floor - there will still be some who play their music too loud late at night and fart in public way too much, but that's expected.  You will learn a lot in class.  You will learn to do your own laundry and not bring it home to mom every time you come home (if you're like me though, you won't start to fold your laundry until you're a junior in college!).  You will make plenty of new, hilarious, and weird friends.  If you're lucky you might learn how to make something more gourmet than Easy Mac. 

Study more than I did - it will pay off in the end.  Also, try to stay up as late as I did - it's where you will make some of your best memories (I didn't go to bed before midnight my freshman year of college except for two nights when I was sick, probably from all of the lack of sleep!). 

Make sure you call home more than I did - mom wants to make sure you have enough to eat, dad will want to know if you're working hard, your baby sisters will miss their big brother, and I will want to listen to all your stories and offer advice if you ask for it.

Most importantly, though, love God, love the people He created, and influence the world.

You are going to have a great first year and I couldn't be more proud to be your older sister!




Sincerely,

Your big sister






-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi






Monday, May 11, 2015

My 10 Paintings of the Semester



My crafty semester in ten different paintings - just call me Picasso!































-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi







Monday, April 27, 2015

God has a sense of humor.




I firmly believe that God has a sense of humor.

For starters, I think everyone should think about the weirdest person they know - typically in this situation I think of myself (weird, I know) or someone in my family.  Think about all of their quirky habits.  Some of mine would include eating Oreo’s with peanut butter, wearing my hair in weird bun things like Princess Leia while Facetiming my boyfriend, and this obsession I have with wanting Michigan State to lose in basketball.

One of my sisters has shots of sugar packets when we go to restaurants, and my other sister sends the ugliest throwback pictures of our family in our GroupMe.  My cousins have a sick sense of humor that only worsens when they are in public.  My roommates like to stand on our furniture and play their ukuleles and recorders at 11 o’clock at night.

And God made all of these people. He has to just watch over all of his people some days and cry with laughter, knowing that he made no mistakes when making us, and he loves us all the same.



I love reading the Gospels because I can just imagine Jesus (who is obviously a funny guy as well since, ya know, God is his Father!), doing everything in his power to not laugh in people’s faces for some of the dumb things they say! 

Peter has potential to be one of my favorite people in the Bible.  Gosh, he’s just an idiot!  I think one of the reasons I like him, and that I call him an idiot, is because I see so much of myself in Peter.  For example, if you look at Matthew 16:13 – 20, Peter sounds like the coolest guy in the room.  He just realized that Jesus was the Messiah!!! If you continue reading though into verses 21 – 28, you will read that Jesus calls Peter Satan! 

I’m going to be completely honest, I laugh every time I read that! I just think it’s so funny how Peter goes from standing on top of a mountain to probably wanting to hide behind a rock.  I see this in my own life as one week I’m praying for focus, energy, and strength to remain Christ-centered, and then the next week I’m basically calling myself Superwoman as I accomplish everything on my to-do list.  I can just picture God rubbing his head and saying, “Yeah, maybe she’ll get it someday!”

Matthew 20:29 – 34 is one of my favorite stories.  Paraphrased by me, it goes something like this:

"So, Jesus is walking with this crowd of people (aka me and whoever else wants to admit their stupidity) behind him and he’s telling all these stories.  Now, these people are listening but not really listening because they have their whole lives put together.


And sitting on the side of the road are these two blind men and they hear Jesus, like really hear Jesus and they get it, so they start yelling for Jesus! People like me, though, need to uphold our good image, so naturally, we forget who we are hanging out with and we start yelling at these blind men to shut up – for crying out loud, I need to pretend I am listening to Jesus. But these two guys just keep yelling louder! 


Wouldn’t you know, Jesus turns around giving me this eye roll (imitating the one that I give to my roommates when they’re being weird) and he tells me to shut up. This is also the part where I just picture Jesus chuckling to himself as he deals with mere humans!  Then, he starts talking to these two guys, LOVING these two guys, and because of their faith, Jesus heals their beautiful eyes.  These guys are so incredibly thankful that they just get up and starting following Jesus around without a second thought."

All of this to say, 1) I’m so thankful God has a sense of humor and created humans with the ability to laugh as well, 2) I need to lighten up and remember to laugh more because God loves it when we are joyful, and 3) I’m working on being more consistent in my faith, but I’m thankful for the grace that God has on sinners like me.






-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi








Friday, April 24, 2015

The Internet has increased my awareness of ____________.



I remember when I was in elementary school and I used Internet Explorer.  Now, I'm twenty years old and in live in a world that makes jokes about using Internet Explorer - I now use other search engines like Google Chrome or Firefox.  I look back to my time as a middle school student and it was cool to have MySpace or Facebook.  My sisters are in high school now and they don't want Facebook - they have Twitter and Instagram.  The world I live in is growing smaller because of the Internet, and while I have advanced access to many resources, the Internet has only increased my awareness of myself.

It sounds conceited even as I type that out - I am the epitome of the "selfish generation."  I would like to explain myself though, because I mean that statement in the most humble way possible.

I took a class this past call called Communication, Technology, and Society.  One of our first assignments was to search through our own social media sides (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) and "judge" our own selves based on our first impressions.

If someone didn't know me, they probably would think I am an incredibly classy, popular, girly girl.  My most recent photos are on a dinner date I went to with some girl friends, several different weddings I attended, and then some cute pictures of adventures I went on with my boyfriend.

Those who really know me would say that I am known to wear basketball shorts, half-calf socks with my Birkenstock sandals, and a tank top that I cute myself with my curly hair thrown into a bun on top of my head.  I have been a student-athlete my entire life - volleyball, basketball, track, and cross country.  The only reason I own makeup is because my cosmetologist cousin bought it for me - this happened three years ago and I haven't bought any new products since!

I'm a Journalism/Media Communications major and due to the pressure I felt to become a good writer, and my own somewhat desperation to have other people hear my voice, I started a blog this past summer.  I won't brag about my numerous followers because its still mainly family who reads what I have to say, but nonetheless, I'm writing where the whole world can see if they really want.

Now, how does this show that the Internet has made me more aware of myself?  First, the Internet has made me aware that, in a weird way, I live a very fake life - as do many other people in this world!  Unless they live with me, no one sees my morning bed head or that I wore the same pair of shorts three days in a row.  I strive to be authentic towards the people around me, but instead my followers see the finished ceramics products that I'm showing off on Instagram, but never get a glimpse of the hundreds of flopped bowls I produced before that.

Second, the Internet has made me aware that my words are here to stay.  Anything I post on the Internet - pictures, statuses, and tweets - all of that will forever be on the Internet and there's no going back.  I can delete items, yes, but the Internet has this disturbing way, that I don't know how to intelligently explain, of resurfacing things you hope will disappear forever.

Lastly, the Internet is making me aware of the power I do have - in a good way!  The Internet has given me the opportunity to share my voice.  I have the opportunity to post on my blog, use Pinterest to discover new projects I want to tackle this summer, and of course do more important endeavors like research for my current exegetical paper.  I believe, just like I believe this about most things in life, that there is a good and bad side to the Internet - the trick is to find balance!

In realizing this, the Internet has made me more aware of myself; for better and for worse, I am learning who I am, who I don't want to be, and who I want to strive to be more like.








-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi






























Monday, April 13, 2015

Caribou vs. Starbucks



The lifelong debate I've been having amongst myself has come to an end - the debate over which coffee shop is better, Caribou or Starbucks.

To finally come to a conclusion, I obviously had to go to both coffee shops this past week.

First, I went to Starbucks - my go to drink: either a Chocolate Smoothie or an Iced Caramel-Macchiato. I would definitely recommend either of those options. The worst part though, is that a lot of Starbucks don't offer the Chocolate Smoothie option!  They have a Strawberry Smoothie and an Orange Mango Smoothie, but I just haven't had the heart to try either of them - I am such a sucker for the combination of chocolate and bananas!

*Side note: Whenever I go to another great place called The Tea Garden I always get a Chocolate Banana Shake with coffee jellies! ... I know, it's weird!


Guilty as charged, here's my Iced Caramel-Macchiato.





To be honest, I never thought I would be a Caribou Coffee girl.  I went from growing up in Iowa, where Starbucks is the way to go, then moving to Minnesota, where I can't get away from Caribou!  Nonetheless, I think I would admit now that I would in fact choose Caribou over Starbucks.  My go to drink would be a Berry White Mocha Cooler.  Even more than I love chocolate and bananas ... I LOVE chocolate and raspberries!!!! If you're not into that, I would also recommend the Campfire mocha (hot, iced, or cooler are all delicious!).  This last time, I ordered a Dirty Chai Tea Latte (aka Chai Tea Latte with Espresso), while it kept me awake on little sleep, I don't know if I would drink it just for fun - I think I still would order a regular Chai Tea Latte before a Dirty Chai!


It took everything in me to not buy this entire sale table at Caribou.  
I actually have a coffee addiction.



Caribou also has a cute chalk board and everyone can share - I love stuff like this!
And of course, I had to answer the question for myself!!!




The reading nooks are so much more cozy than in Starbucks.



I'm just clearly having more fun with friends when I am at Caribou.




I hope many people are able to sleep better tonight knowing that I now prefer Caribou over Starbucks!  Sweet dreams, friends!!!






-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi








Sunday, April 5, 2015

The Imitation Game



I watched the movie called The Imitation Game last night.  Based on a true story, the movie is about the decrypting of the Germans code Enigma.  Not going to lie, much of the math, codes, and war history was over my head BUT what caught my attention was the end of the movie.

As the war ended, the four men and one women were instructed to destroy all that they had created.  It could never be known that they had broken Enigma.  They had to move on with their lives and act as if they never knew one another and like they had never even been involved with the war.  Their new lives were a lie wrapped around another lie.

It it struck me today at 12:17 AM when the movie finished that Jesus Christ died for the imitation game that I play every single day - where I am not vulnerable about burdens in my life when I should be; where I am not completely honest about the hurtful words people say; where I put on a mask some mornings, hiding my struggles and stress level before heading off to class.

Jesus died for the imitation game - by his grace alone, I am healed from all that I pretend to be.

"You know the Room of Grace was never just about getting healed, right?  The goal has always been to free your release into your particular destiny.  I have a feeling that's what you're waking up to.  It happens to all of us.  What you're experiencing tonight, it's real.  It's God telling you, 'I didn't forget.  I made you for this - for the unique influence you have on others.'  You, my wandering friend, are right on time."     - The Cure

I'm learning to be thankful for death on the cross, the grace of God, and the chance to be redeemed and healed, not just on Easter Sunday, but every day of my life.  These daily reminders point me towards the God-given desires that have been burned on my heart since I was created.  Because of the conquered death, I have a great destiny waiting to be discovered beyond the painful mistakes I have made.  Destiny is the ordained intention God has sacredly prepared with your name on it (The Cure).


Happy Easter Sunday!




















-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi








Wednesday, April 1, 2015

chocolate, tea, and the finer things in life



I've been learning a lot this year, but I keep consistently going back to the quote that inspired me to start a one year bucket list and this blog; the quote that is inspiring me to do the finer things in life that are good for my soul!

"Enjoy the little things for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things."

I love eating chocolate, and it may sound ridiculous but I haven't done enough of that lately.  This past weekend, I ate a delicious "Chocoholic" cupcake (check out Scratch Cupcakery) and a half bag of Brookside chocolate covered raspberries (potentially one of my favorite things on the planet!)





I'm becoming more of a tea drinker.  I can't give up my morning coffee, but I've started to drink a daily cup of tea as well.  Now, all I need are some beautiful pastries and the Queen of England to join me!




When people told me that I wouldn't have time to read for fun when I came to college, I thought it was a joke.  Unfortunately, it's kind of true, but I've learned to make time for reading books and the newspaper because it makes me happy and I learn a lot through reading.  I was also told this year that the more you read, the better writer you become so I'm hoping that's true!!!




I love creative projects - I am taking a ceramics class and I LOVE putting in the extra work and going to work on new pots, vases, pitchers, whatever with my roommate or a lot of times by myself! I've also taken up painting again this year and it's become a new thing of mine to catch up on my favorite TV shows or watch movies and paint!





I've started to go on long runs a lot more this year, especially since January.  The cold never bothered me anyway, so I ran outside a lot even in the slush, wind, and snow!  It's been a good way to get fresh air outside, clear my head, and obviously, exercise!






And with that, I want to encourage you to start today and take on the small things in life that bring you joy!





-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi









Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Lesssons from a Spring Break Vacation



I recently returned from sunshine and beaches in Jamaica to the snowy tundra of Minnesota. 

First of all, yikes!  The warm weather made me gain a new sense of renewal and then I came back to wind that nipped at nose and made me not want to walk 100 feet outside to class.

Second, while vacations are refreshing and meant for relaxing, they have always brought upon new lessons for me to learn and dwell on.  Therefore, I bring to you Lessons from a Spring Break Vacation.



Lesson 1
My family and I had just arrived in Jamaica.  We were headed in a bus to our hotel and the road we were traveling on took us right along the ocean.  My sister was really excited and kept poking me in the arm, excitedly exclaiming in that high pitched voice that so many girls use, "Look, look, look!"

She was pointing out to the ocean and while no Instagram filter could make the ocean bluer than it appeared in that moment, it wasn't like a sunset was surrounded it or there were glorious palm trees around it ... no, it was simply this enormous chunk of deep blue water being swallowed up at the horizon by the bright blue sky.  Incredible, really!

And my sister starts apologizing to me, like, "I'm sorry, I'm acting like I've never seen the ocean before."

It's funny though, because I wish I was more like that.  I should be more like that because I started this darn blog to celebrate my one year bucket list and doing things for the first time and also enjoying all of the little things in life and here I was not excited about the ocean!

How sad is it that I wasn't just gaping in awe of the color, the depth, the immenseness, and the vastness of the ocean?

I don't get lost in the mystery of the world around me like I should.  I don't want to take this life for granted.  I don't ever want to lose my sense of wonder.



Lesson 2
The unofficial Jamaican motto is, "No problem, mon!"

One of the things my family noticed is the joyfulness of the Jamaican citizens.  One of the workers at the resort we were staying at explained it like this to my family:
"We all have problems, but we can't let them weigh us down, or we will forget all we have to be joyful about."

I don't ever want to let my problems become so heavy that I forget all I have to be joyful about - my crazy family who supports my March Madness addiction, my boyfriend who goes on adventures to the zoo with me, my roommates who knit, eat sour patch watermelons and watch endless episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S with me, my co-workers who get together for weekly doughnuts, my red Cadillac Rufus who continues to speed along highways for me, my coffee stained notebooks that are filled with my 100 mph thoughts, my trusty camera that tags along with me for my first time on a zip line .... there are so many more incredible joys in my life and I will continue to choose to be joyful rather than to drown in my problems. 



Lesson 3  
I need to take more time for things that make my soul happy - one of those things is a new adventure. One of my roommates and I implemented Adventure Wednesday - mandatory fun days with new adventures and activities we have never done before.

In Jamaica, I went on a zip line for the first time.  I hiked up a waterfall.  I held a starfish.  I met a man named Michael who had a kayak store. 

I am feeling refreshed and full, and I am so thankful for the experiences, people, and time to think that God allowed me to have this week.  I am ready for more adventures in the Midwest this semester!













-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi











Sunday, March 15, 2015

Selection Sunday



Selection Sunday .... My favorite holiday next to Christmas!  I remember being in middle school and my third grade sisters were filling out brackets for our family pool.  My family is a little intense of basketball, even when we aren't the ones playing!

I've been concentrating hard today to fill out my bracket before I cut off communication with the world and head to the beach for Spring Break.  As much as I would love to share my bracket with the world and what I think will be key points, I can't bring myself to do it - I'd be so upset if my brother and dad actually read my blog and copied my bracket! I can't let them win!!!  Instead, I will give probably my Top Three Reasons Why I Love March Madness Moments.

First, the one thing that about makes me cry every year is the "One Shining Moment."  Oh my gosh, I just get super emotional!  I watched last years "One Shining Moment" before I posted it below and I almost lost it - I think it's because I love basketball and when you've played for a long time as well you start to understand (on a smaller scale) what they are feeling!





Second, I am a sucker for a Cinderella story.  Duke is my favorite basketball team, so of course when they lose, regardless of who to, I'm sad, but that is still part of what makes March Madness so incredible!






Third, I've always wanted to dunk.  I got over that phase when 1) I realized I was done growing after barely reaching 5'5" and 2) my dad reminded me that while impressive, dunks are still only worth two points.








-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi








Thursday, March 12, 2015

a weeks worth of adventures




Happy Surprise Thursday Post!  There were too many joyful (and some "first") things that have happened this week for me not to share with the world.

I went to the Science Museum of Minnesota! That is a crazy first - I'm really not a science person.  I like words and pictures and artsy things.  My boyfriend though, likes science.  So, we went on a date to the science museum - and surprisingly, I wasn't bored at all!

There are a lot of different exhibits and because I'm kind of weird, I appreciated that they had categories and little nooks for each of them (maybe most science museums are like this but I had never been to one before!).  They had an exhibit on the human brain and I was fascinated - the way that God created our brains to develop and think blew me away!  My favorite exhibit was probably the light and color exhibit (it was definitely the most artsy!), but I also loved the dinosaur exhibit - I even found a "medium" dinosaur bone that was as big as my whole body!!!

The Science Museum is in St. Paul and it was a gorgeous spring night, so obviously we had to do some exploring!  Here are two different pictures - one before going into the museum and one after we came out of the museum.





I am a little kid at heart - there are just certain things that overwhelm my heart with joy.  One of those things are animals.  It was 50 degrees and sunny out so I had to go to the zoo! What's not to love?! Not only are there animals, but there is a beautiful garden filled with fountains, trees, and flowers.  I fell in love with thoughts of warm weather and summer all over again - I just keep hoping that the Midwest isn't toying with my emotions!






I had been hearing all about this restaurant/coffee shop called the Black Coffee & Waffle Bar so I finally went there - no worries, I did the hipster thing and posted on Instagram ALLLLL about it! I will say this - the waffles were really big (it was hard to finish them off!) and my advice would be to do the "build your own waffle." I ate the Fat Andrew and my boyfriend got the Naughty Waffle - they were both delicious! I also got a latte - my only complaint was the price compared to the size, but like I've been learning to tell myself, "There are a lot worse things in life than that!"






Something I love doing is going on walks - we explored the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis and it was beautiful!  We walked along it as the sun was setting, went to dinner, then came back once it was dark and all the city lights were on.  I don't know if I want to live in a big city some day, but I sure do fall in love easily with them once I begin to explore!





Then, as I top off some great week experiences, I went with a couple friends to two different coffee shops that I have never been to before - of course, I will be posting them on my Link Love page!

The first coffee shop was Spyhouse. I loved the decor and lighting - perfect comfort and homework mood.  It was also open until 11 pm, which as a college student, is incredibly important! Oh, the coffee was good too! My only complaint - lack of outlets in certain areas. 




The second coffee shop was Nina's Coffee Cafe.  I think I may have found somewhere that could be my all time favorite place!  It was a writer's dream.  It was located in an old, historical corner building - the atmosphere was lovely - the decor was vintage - there was a corner section up a flight of stairs creating a two person reading nook - there was a book store with tables in the basement - their iced mocha was delicious and reasonably priced - I really want to try more on their menu so obviously I will be going back soon! They are also open until 10 pm, which is a pretty decent time yet.  The only downfall - lack of parking and very crowded ... but who can blame people for wanting to come to an inspiring coffee shop?









Now that, my friends, is what I like to call a successful week! Tomorrow is Friday and soon my spring break will begin - looking forward to time off from school and more adventures!

Also, I want to point out another blog I follow - Hole in the Wall.




-Courage, dear heart. C.S. Lewis
Lexi