- Innovative welcome page shows screenshots of your most visited pages.

- Tabbing is quicker and easier.

- The Incognito window lets you surf without a trace.

- It’s simpler, therefore faster, and better.

- If internet explorer were a 2004 bottom-of-the-line dell, mozilla firefox would be a 2008 top-of-the-line dell. Google Chrome is a 2012 macbook pro (with whatever cooler name apple comes up with at that point) that actually cooks dinner for you.

Here are the not-so-great things:

- YSU’s portal doesn’t work on it. But I’m graduating in a few months, and that won’t matter any more.

It’s just that sweet.

Last night I was sick. Like, gross, sick to my stomach but not wanting to puke, extremely tired, hot-flashy sick. It was gross. Mark took me to Bob Evans, we watched Grey’s, and then played guitar. It was bliss.

Life is good right now. I’m in class four days a week for a few more weeks, and then I’m at W.S. Guy Middle for the rest of the year. I’m super-pumped. Fifth grade math is fun to teach, and the kids are even better. I saw one of them at Giant Eagle this weekend. He recognized me, so I gave him some candy corn. Which is probably why I’m sick. I hate two bags of candy corn in 24 hours.

Maybe I won’t work out this morning. Maybe I’ll put it off until tonight. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.

Anyway, since I just talked about Mark, I should tell the ambiguous you that we are doing great. We just celebrated our three-year anniversary. It was the best anniversary ever, and we didn’t even do that much! We toured the rose gardens, went out to dinner, “wasted time” at the Christrian bookstore, and came home and prayed together. Is that weird? I don’t think so. Basically it further solidifies my notion that I am going to marry this boy. Don’t tell Mom I said that. Or Mark.

I’m working for my math professor at YSU. He’s probably the most supportive, most flexible boss I’ve ever had. When I got sick yesterday, I didn’t even have to ask. He could just tell, and so he sent me home. And he’s letting me come in late today, which is great, because I definitely didn’t feel like waking up at 6:00 am. Anyway, my job is to do administrative stuff for the grant project he’s doing and to write math lessons that he’s “invented.” It’s fun, especially since math is my second biggest hobby.

I’m obsessed (in a healthy way) with Grey’s Anatomy. I know it’s a shallow show, but it helps me take my mind off the craziness that is my life right now. I’m about a fifth of the way through season 4, so I’m not going to get caught up by the time season 5 starts [tomorrow], but they’ll be online so I can watch them at my leisure.

Also… I HAVE A HOUSE! My friend Alysha and I are renting it from her worship leader’s dad. He’s great, the house is great (except it smells funny sometimes and I think we have mice), and I feel much older and more responsible.

School is also good. My classes are fun because I know everyone and everyone knows me, so we goof off mostly.

But it’s 8:00. Decision time: exercise or another episode of Grey’s? Probably the latter.

ANYWAY, I think it’s awesome that the top 8 performed this song. Even if they don’t believe it, all those viewers heard it on Wednesday and Thursday. AND even though on Wednesday they didn’t start with, “My Jesus…” (it was “My Shepherd…” instead), they did on Thursday.

I don’t care how old or overplayed this song is. It still moves me, especially when I know how many people heard it. =)

Anyway, here’s “Shout to the Lord”by the Idols. Enjoy!

I don’t really have much to say, except that I’m super excited about this Cru Commitment thing we’re doing. It’s basically the Epic Challenge, but with some different Bible verses and goals.

Also the talent show tonight went really well and Brittany placed! Eee! I’m excited for her. And I’m proud of myself for finally performing my music in public. I got loads of compliments, and I’m glad that the general public doesn’t think my music is weird, haha.

And Rachael and Mere and Danilo and my Mom came to support me! And Mark sat in the front row, so whenever I felt nervous, I just looked at him.

=)

I’m lame for doing two entries on the same song.

Anyway, we sang this song at church on Saturday and I think it’s the first time I heard it. Up until that point, I was definitely worshiping God, but not really focusing on Him. That’s when I really felt like He was telling me that there are greater things yet to come in me. I’m not trying to get all symbolic or metaphorical here, but I just honestly, honestly felt like He was saying that He’s not finished with the work He’s doing in me.

It was a sweet moment. That’s the best word I can use to describe it. Not “sweet,” as in, “Whoa, sweet, man!” haha. “Sweet,” as in, “precious.” Except I don’t really like the word “precious.” So, sweet. ANYWAY, the whole service, for me, was sort of a re-commitment thing. It was good to get back on track, especially with this being the last week before I talk to Mark again. Whatever God needs me to do, if it’s another month, if it’s another four or five months, I’m going to do it. I feel like I’m just at the tip of the iceberg with what He wants to do through me, and I am definitely not going to hold Him back!

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done in this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here

You’re the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You’re the King above all Kings
You are

You’re the strength in our weakness
You’re the love to the broken
You’re the joy in the sadness
You are

Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done in this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for You and love for You in this city

Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done in this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Joel 2:13 – Rend your heart
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.

Kind of weird, but I guess God’s definitely trying to get something through to me. I mean, I can definitely see how this verse applies to my situation. “Rend” means to remove, to split, to divide; in this context, I can see it almost as meaning “remove in surRENDer,” haha. So, surrender my heart, not trivial things, to God. Return to God. Here are the three contexts I heard this verse today:

1. Pastor Janet’s message on “The Person of the Holy Spirit” at church tonight: Basically she used it to point out the Holy Spirit’s interactions with humanity in the OT. Joel told the people of Israel to repent and return to God.

2. Joyce Meyer’s message on “It’s Time to Get Serious.” She talked about how serious Christians learn to give things up for God. When we do, we can take our relationship with Him to the next level.

3. And then I was randomly on Grace Community Church’s website, the site of Flourish ’08, and I clicked on the Bible search engine, and the verse was just sitting there. That was about 10 minutes ago. I got freaked out, so I wrote an entry.

I wasn’t even going to write tonight, actually. But let me tell you that God is so good. In His presence is fullness of joy.

I know this is probably a weird end to this entry, but I’m really about done talking for tonight. Good night.

All of my shame, You erased
You gave me Your beauty in its place
All of my sorrows, You exchanged
For a joy that never fades

You are my everything
Everything You are is everything to me

You satisfy me
You satisfy me
With the riches of Your hand
Everything I am is all because of You
You satisfy

All of the things that hold my heart
All of the pleasures of this life
Cannot compare to who You are
And the treasures of Your love

You are my everything
Everything You are is everything to me

You satisfy me
You satisfy me
With the riches of Your hand
Everything I am is all because of You
You satisfy me
You satisfy me

And I lay my life down
My trophies and my crowns
All because of You
You satisfy

1. Finally buying and installing a light bulb into my pretty rice paper lamp.

2. Reassigning speed dial numbers.

It’s actually a really hard thing to do, reassigning speed dial numbers. I mean, it’s like the final stage in the Kübler-Ross model. Except, instead of grieving over the loss of someone I love, I’m getting over the fact that some of my closest friends are no longer my closest friends. The stages go something like this: denial (not believing I’m losing my friend), anger (when she doesn’t call as often), bargaining (yeah, I’m not really sure this one really counts for this situation), depression (feeling like I’ll never have that amazing of a friend again), and acceptance (reassigning the speed dial numbers and being okay with it).

Can you tell I’m procrastinating finishing my homework? I mean, I’m over-analyzing giving a couple of girls speed dial numbers. Definitely a “C” personality, for those of you who know what that means, but also an “I,” haha.

Anyway, I think I’m still searching for a “sign” from God as to whether or not Mark and I are supposed to be together forever. Tonight, I got a bad one. Joyce made one comment about relationships (it literally was one tiny comment in a whole message on something sort-of, but not really, related) in her message, and I got upset, thinking that it meant Mark and I were definitely not going to make it. But you know what? If I put so much value in the “good signs,” I’d probably pick up on the “bad” ones, too. So, I’m not even going to go by these stupid little things that I over-analyze (again). I’m going to let God’s peace determine what I do with the rest of my life.

As easy as that sounds, I’m having a hard time. But with each week apart, it gets easier and easier to trust God and not myself. I know God’s not going to give me one answer and Mark a completely different one. He’s not a God of confusion.

And, on that note, it’s time to go spend some time with Him.