oh the irony...

Today marks the beginning of my final two weeks in Dallas. Yes, on August 11th I will be pulling out of the big D and attempting to drive a U-Haul with 3 of my best friends up to STL. There has been much going on in my head and heart about this over the last weeks and months, and I am sure there will be many more sentimental, sappy, and emotional posts to come. Including this extremely emotional one tonight. Brace yourselves...

I have been trying to plan out my schedule- things I need to do, stuff I need to pack, places I need to eat, and people I need to see. And in the midst of all this planning, I have had one very unexpected visitor. And let's just say her visit has not been sweet.

A few weeks ago when I solidified my final moving date, Irony knocked on my door. She barged into my life completely uninvited and announced that merely two days after I will be pulling out of town, guess what will be rolling into the Big D...

THE GYMNASTICS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS!

For those of you who don't know what this is, it's only the most prestigious competition of US Gymnasts held each year. Seriously, the biggest competition in American Gymnastics all year!! And for those of you who don't know why I care, and why I am so completely devastated, you must be a new reader of the blog. "Hello, I welcome you!"

But seriously, Irony, is this some kind of cruel joke? I have lived in this city for pretty much my entire life- that's 27 long years, and never, NEVER has such an event come here. I have been waiting, waiting- oh, and waiting for such an event to arrive. And really, 2 days, 2 DAYS, after I move, the nations best gymnasts are going to assemble and compete for 4 days only several miles from where I live?

Irony, you have devastated me, truly devastated me. (Please catch the little bit of sarcasm if you don't know me. But I do mean little bit!)

I am missing out on one of my dreams- to watch Olympic level gymnastics for 4 straight days. And I missing out on what could be my last opportunity to fulfill one of my goals- meeting Nastia before I leave!

Do you think my chances might be better with my other goal- meeting George Bush? I heard a kid mentioned in the paper that he wanted to meet George, and when George read the article he went right on and met that kid. I'm pretty sure he'd respond similarly if, I mean WHEN, he reads my blog!

Hello, Mr. President!!!

Mr. President and Nastia- truly hope to be seeing you soon.

And for those of you staying in Dallas- please go to the National Championships and watch a beam routine for me!

No Fear...Yeah Right

I have mentioned before that as a kid- one who was extremely girly and not tomboyish at all- my wardrobe consisted of mostly Umbros and tshirts, my favorite of which were the brand NO FEAR. They said things like, "A Champion is one who gets up even when they can't...NO FEAR!" or "He who dies with the most toys still dies...NO FEAR."

NO FEAR tackles all sorts of scary subjects...falling, failure, crying, sports, etc. But for some reason they failed to leave off the scariest subject of all...

THE DENTIST

Seriously, there is not much in this world I am afraid of more than the dentist. And honestly, I would rather go anywhere or do anything than have to sit in that chair and have them prod metal tools and grind gritty toothpaste all over my mouth.

You might think I am a chicken, a wimp, or flat out ridiculous. You may be judging me, which you know as a reader you are not supposed to do while reading this blog. But you'd be deathly afraid of the dentist too if...

1. Your anesthesia ran out during a minor gum surgery when you were 8! (I could stick a nickel between my two front teeth back then, so let's just say my mouth needed a little fixin!)

2. A dental hygienist made you cry when you were 21, and when your mom called to report it later that day, that same dental hygienist had already been fired. Looks like I was the last victim in her chair before she was terminated.

3. When you are 25 and working in ministry, your childhood dentist makes you pay $1000 of your hard-earned money on a mouth guard that you don't need to fix a jaw problem that you don't have. When in reality, all you needed was a little Advil because you had temporarily injured it on a frozen peanut m&m. (Go ahead and judge here, it's legit!)

So you see, my fear is justified and thus, I had not been to the dentist in 2 years! And had no intention of going back either, no intention of conquering that fear. That is until my sweet, subtle mother kept reminding me how desperately I needed to get my teeth cleaned so they wouldn't just fall out while I was in seminary! (The chances are not good of finding a cute boy up there without any teeth!)

So yesterday, I decided to conquer my fears and after a couple of shots of tequila (just kidding), after a couple of diet cokes, I ventured up to see my friend Lee Bridgeman, who swore he could change my thoughts of dentists all together. And I would just like to give a shout out, a congrats, and a thanks to Lee and all the folks at Bridgeman Dental because guess what...THEY DID!

When talking to my sweet, subtle mother on the phone on the way home I actually described my dentist visit as a pleasant experience! Words I have never before uttered..

Maybe it was because my friend Michelle (Lee's wife) greeted me when I walked in...

Maybe it was because my hygienist actually asked frequently if she was hurting me instead of just jamming those stupid metal tools deeper and deeper into my un-flossed gums!!

Maybe it was because of all the compliments she gave me saying my teeth looked great for not having gone to the dentist in 2 years! (I'm an easy sell. Flattery typically works!)

Maybe it was because the gritty toothpaste actually smelled and tasted like a Miami Vice (you know, Pina Colada and Strawberry Daiquiri mix). If I closed my eyes, I could almost swear I was laying out on the beaches of Cancun rather than in the dentist chair.

Maybe it was because after two years of no dentist, I still had NO CAVITIES! What what!

Whatever it was...my fear is gone. Lee, you are a miracle worker and have made a believer out of me. I will now and forever more, call you my dentist. For any of you that are crippled by a phobia of your local dentist, give Lee and his crew a call. Many, many thanks, Lee!

All smiles...and a clean one at that-

Caroline

the Lord's pleasure

I love when you are reading Scripture and a small phrase, perhaps one you have read over and over, just completely overwhelms your heart and mind. Last night as I read, that one such phrase was this:

FOR THE LORD TAKES PLEASURE IN HIS PEOPLE... (Ps. 149:4)

As I considered this wondrous reality and as I considered my heart and my life, so many questions entered my mind- why? how? really? Why and how could the Lord, my Maker, the King (as he is described earlier in the Psalm) delight, take pleasure in someone like me?

It was in the midst of those thoughts that another simple phrase saturated my heart and mind:

BECAUSE OF CHRIST...

Because of Christ. The Lord takes pleasure in me, in all of his people, not because of who we are or what we have done, but because of who Christ is and what he has done. My life is hidden in him, united with him, I belong to him and because of the cross the Father, wondrously, delights me as he does in his Son, as if I had done everything that he had!

It is my prayer that his glorious reality of the gospel of Jesus Christ might be what saturates and overwhelms my heart today, and that it might encourage any of you who read this as well.

The Lord takes pleasure in his people- always, in every circumstance- because of Christ!

May this reality cause us to do what the Psalmist exhorts in this very Psalm- "Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new Song!"

And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood?
Died he for me who caused his pain, for me who him to death pursued.
Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God should die for me!

Junk in the Trunk...

For those of you who are worried about the title, have no fear! This is not about J-Lo.

It is not a gross and shameful post. Well, not gross and shameful in the way you might think. So, yeah, have no fear!

One of the things I have heard over and over again in my time at PCPC is that is not good in any way to have parts of your life that are secret, hidden so that no one can see them. In fact it is dangerous to have junk in your life that no one really knows about and that you can effectively keep hidden from everyone!

I experienced that this was overwhelmingly true today as I was cleaning out the trunk of my car! It was unbelievable...so, so, SO much junk that I have effectively kept hidden, even from myself over the past few years!

I used to have an SUV, so anyone who got in my car could definitely see all the Junk in the Trunk, and believe me they did! Girls, remember how horrible it was!? I was always nervous I had lost one of my youth kids back there and just had no idea! My fear was assuaged however when none of their faces ever appeared on a milk carton. As long as that wasn't the case, I figured I was pretty safe!

The beauty of my Passat that I have driven these past few years has been the trunk...it is completely secret. So I can store as much crap back there as I want, and still pull off the appearance of clean car!** Please excuse the language, but, as you will soon see, it really fits!

Today I officially began my "Pre-Move-to-STL-to-do-list" and figured I would tackle "Clean out Car" first. Let me just tell you I was in no way prepared for what I would find.

Brace yourself, take a look at just a small sample of what I found, and, as I seem to say a lot on this blog...please don't judge me!

The trunk before the big clean out:

Oh you know... just addressed and stamped support letters I never sent for a mission trip I never went on. How long will it take me to salvage all those stamps??

Just a few photos of my friends from China... (Ingrid, the girl on the bottom left is my fave and we are still friends!)

All the athletic gear that I need being the incredible athlete that I am!!

Seeing as my last camping trip was in 8th grade, I figured I might need to be prepared for my next one which could obviously come spur of the moment. The rubber snake is a must have- obviously!

A boom-box. In case you were in fact beginning to judge me for not cleaning out my trunk since 1997, the CD inside does say Christmas 2007, so I am vindicated! Stop judging!

Clearly, you never know when you might need to throw a spontaneous Easter Egg Hunt! Thank goodness I was prepared!

Gotta keep your good reading handy at all times. Seriously, what is better than an US Weekly with Shawn and Nastia on the front?!?!

Just in case you were wondering about the spirituality in my trunk, don't worry there was a small little library in there as well- complete with the Westminster Shorter Catechism! Aren't I such a good little Presbyterian?

This is my sweet friend Grace, when she happened to stop by she had absolutely no idea what she was getting herself into! Here she is holding one of several trash bags complete with junk from the trunk. Just use your imagination, as much of what you saw on this blog post did not end up in there!!

My favorite thing Grace said this afternoon was "All of that came out of THAT trunk? You should definitely be getting better gas milage now!"

I thanked Grace for her insight and for her help my sending her home with a few party favors from the trunk!

Finally finished! Now i just wonder how my friends at the office are going to feel when I bring all my junk from the trunk that actually belongs to the church back up to them.

Hmm... pretty sure no one is up there at midnight on a Saturday... might just have to sneak up there now!

Adios....

something's not quite right...

This afternoon I was at the mall...

...ok while you might be thinking, yes, Caroline that's not quite right, and wondering why I would be at the mall with no job and no money. That is not what this post was intended to be about, and to your question, I plead the 5th. Anyways...

This afternoon I was at the mall and saw something that literally made me do a double take. A woman was browsing through the shoe department at Nordstrom pushing her purse in a stroller.

In case you missed that... she was pushing her PURSE in a STROLLER!!

I mean really?!?! What in the heck was going on there?

Did the thought of quite possibly finding a pair of Jimmy Choo's on clearance get her so worked up that she lost her child in the midst of all of the excitement?

Was she a kidnapper posing as a Jimmy Choo seeker, and just brought the stroller along so that when she found an unsuspecting child to snatch it would look more believable?

Or have women's purses gotten SO big these days that to carry them on your shoulder invetibly means you will crush under the weight, and therefore demand that you purchase a stroller to go along with it?!?!

What would that clearance look like at Nordstrom?!? "Buy one GUCCI handbag and get one GUCCI stroller half-price" ?!?

Really?

I am sure that there are other conclusions one could come to. But no matter which one you choose, there there is something that everyone surely must conclude when seeing lady pushing bag in stroller- "something's just not quite right!"

Happy Saturday!!

Oh and if you happen to be at Northpark later today, in case conclusion 2 is true, be on the look out for this lady, keep your phone close by, and keep your kids even closer!

meet me in st. louis

Well, I just got back today from St. Louis... the great midwestern city that will be my new home in just about a month! It was just great, and I honestly couldn't be more excited about getting up there!

(For those of you who don't know already because I haven't written about it on the blog...I am now going to go to seminary up in St. Louis at Covenant Theological Seminary. About 6 weeks ago, the Lord completely pried my hands off the plans I had been holding onto so tightly for so long, closed the door to Philly, and opened so clearly this door to go to St. Louis! It has been so evident to me that this is his plan, his path for me, and I just can't wait to walk in it!)

I know this next phase of my life is going to be such a learning experience for me, and these past few days were a little taste of it. Here's just a bit of what I learned and experienced in these past few days...

I have experienced so deeply that God is FAITHFUL and does in fact provide for all our needs. I have seen him provide for me in so many ways... with some scholarship $$ I never thought I would get so late in the game, a place to live with a great family, potential job opportunities, and a few great friends already in STL. I have seen his hand in so very much, and i haven't even gotten up there already!

I learned and experienced that for us as believers, all of life is ministry--whether it is the official job that pays the bills or not. We really are the light, the aroma of Christ in a world that desperately needs him. I am excited about a taking a break from working in the church for a little bit, and hopefully finding a job in the real world where I can be the hands, feet, and heart of Jesus Christ! Please pray for me...that I might live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ!

I learned that you absolutely cannot live in St. Louis and not be a Cardinals fan. And even as a self diagnosed fair-weather fan and ultimate bandwagon jumper, I am excited to be a real fan of a fun team with character and history. (Oh and hopefully a team that wins some games too... the Aggies are KILLING me!!)

I learned that sadly, over my time in Highland Park, I have become way too used to "the bubble" and now think driving over 10 minutes to get anywhere is far away. Ridiculous... i know!

And finally, I learned and experienced first hand that Mexican food outside of Texas is AWFUL... seriously, I ate the worst quesadillas of my life this week. And seriously, how do you mess up a quesadilla?? Yo no comprende! Besides it being cold outside...oh, and leaving everyone I know, my biggest fear about moving from Tejas is the lack of good Tex-Mex. But, I must say, I am glad I discovered it now, so I can eat my fair share before I go.

So...if you are looking for me in the next month or so, your best bet is probably Manny's, Mi Cocina, Mia's, or Mattitos...I'll probably just be chillin there eating fajitas with guac and probably drinking in the queso.

Don't judge me.

And come the middle of August, if you want to find me... Meet Me in St. Louis!

Are you achin...for some bacon??

Well today I am blogging from the great metropolis of Shreveport, Louisiana. And no, I'm not gambling! (Although I did win 100 bucks one time. Beginners luck. No need to risk it!)

 We are here visiting my grandparents- who, I found out are followers of the blog... shout out to you Jackie and Pops! I love you!

As we were driving a long I-20 this afternoon, we came across a rather large brush fire that had just started along the side of the road. It honestly scared me a bit. I could just picture the flames blowing across the road, and engulfing our car. But luckily, Big Bill (my dad) put the pedal to the metal and we avoided the flames! 

This roadside fire, however, brought a similar experience to the mind of my sweet, very intelligent sister (she really is... made a perfect 800 on her math on the SAT). Her story was short and sweet and went like this...

"One time, I was driving down the highway and saw a fire just like this on a farm on the side of the road, and it totally smelled like BACON! I just knew the cows were out there in the field burning!"

Clearly, because COWS+FIRE always = bacon! 

I guess its a good thing science, culinary, and common sense sections aren't on the SAT! 

Thanks for the laughs Linds! Love you!