good things.

slip 'n' slides. inflatable ones. on a friday afternoon thats warm and sunny. nothing like being with great people, running and flinging yourself around, and being all wet and smelling like apple blossom dish soap. and drying off in the warm sun. maybe even getting slighly tan (or burnt in my case). still feeling my muscles rebelling from it all though. but it was tots mcgots worth it.

weekends. ah, so lovely. time to get things done. but also time to just do whatever you want. go to the game, even if we lose. help with concessions. watch friends with friends. get to know new friends better. legit town.

rendez-vous. i'm learning oh so well lately that not everything needs to be planned out. planning everything creates stress, which in turn creates kind of awkwardness and uncertainty of whether things are going ok. i was freaking out minorly that this slip 'n' slide for cru had no distinct plans other than that there was going to be a slip 'n' slide on the lawn. but it turned out great. and the people i feel like i've always had to plan to see and catch up with just end up eating with me. things are so much more chillax at school in the social ring this year. i'm fine with eating alone if thats what happens, but people almost always pop up to eat and do things with. it adds such a needed casual air to life and social interactions.

random inspiration. just finished the book velvet elvis by rob bell. its pretty legit. stocked full of good junk. here's a passage that struck me/applies to what i've been going through lately:

"and so we are learning how to suffer well. not to avoid it but to feel the full force of it. ... following Jesus may bring on problems you never imagined.

suffering is a place where cliches don't work and words often fail. i was at lunch last week with a friend who is in the middle of some difficult days, and i don't have any answers. i just dont. i cant fix it for him. i've tried. and we sat there and talked and ate, and i let him know that i'm in it with him. it isnt very pretty and it isn't very fun, but when we join together in the pain and confusion, God is there. sometimes it means we sit in silence for a while, not knowing what to say. and it is in our suffering together that we find out we are not alone. we find out who really loves us. we find out that with these people around us, we can make it through anything. and that gives us something to celebrate."

also "time spent around the table with eachother is time spent with God."

good things. :)