Funny Label

on my shampoo bottle...

"Directions: Massage into wet hair and indulge in the luxurious lather. Surrender to the intoxicating fragrance. Rinse when ready..."

seriously??

Close of the Day

by sandra mccracken

close of the day
fireworks and rain
it feels like a holiday
unburdens my frame
and this is not what i deserve

from where we fell
the voice of rapture tells
a story of weight and wonder
to carry us down
and this is not what we deserve

He rolls out a blanket
to hymns of the ages
the tales of the sages
coming alive
and this is not what i deserve

face like no other
kiss of a lover
the marks of my name
torn into Your hands
and this is not what You deserve
hallelujah!

Pet Peeve of the Day

one thing i absolutely hate is when a song's lyrics don't match its tune. i particularly hate this in hymns. today's example: o love that wilt not let me go. this song is fabulous - theologically sound, emotionally engaging, beautiful words. the original tune, however, is crap. i hate it. it makes you sound like a cross between a dying cow and the mysterious "sea cows" in the background of sandra mccracken's song "close of the day" (which, by the way, is an excellent song with the exception of the sea cows - i'll blog it sometime). the new ruf tune (a la indelible grace) is wayyyyyyyyyy better. makes it sound like we're actually GLAD that Christ's love isn't letting us go...

Chill-Time

you know what is way fun? hanging out with my dad. since he and i are the only ones at home right now, and both of us weren't working today, we just kinda hung out. we went to olive garden (my treat, now that i have a paycheck and it was just father's day and that's his favorite restaurant) and then we came back and chilled before we went to see the lake house, which was really sweet. i ran into ann taylor loft for a couple of minutes and bought a skirt on sale and a really cute top i've had my eye on. we went to a lady in our church's apartment to fix her alarm clock. she's got aspergers and lives alone and just generally has a hard time of it. :-( after we left her place, we ran by the volvo dealership in order to pick up a treasure map to try to find the buried treasure, a la pirates of the caribbean 2. then we swung over to blockbuster to pick up glory road, which we watched and liked, basketball people that we are.

we talked alot. i can't imagine having parents who didn't like to talk to me. today's major topics of conversation were (a) church discipline, particularly regarding homosexuality; (b) the next year in general; and (c) my bedtimes.

all in all, a day well spent.

The Devil May Wear Prada...

...but i think he also made my black BCBGirls pumps. my feet are KILLING me. i have a giant blister on my right foot (where a bunion would be if i had one) and like 5 other blisters located around various parts of my toes.

but lauren, you idiot, this was clearly unwise - you wore high-heeled shoes to a job which does not allow you to sit down? what did you expect to happen? well, gentle reader [wow saying that is way trippier than i expected], i have better balance in heels. i am more comfortable in heels. and i can't wear flipflops, so most of my shoes are out anyway. heck, i bought these shoes to work in - i have a pair of brown shoes from the same designer that i love so much i'll plan an entire week's wardrobe around them. they are crazy comfortable, and i thought these would be too. apparently not. :-(

Wilma, I'm Home!!!

well, back to the blogging world is more like it. the last week and a half as been muy crazy, but i return unscathed, at least permanently. it's been good, it's been bad - it's been all over the place. and now you probably want the rundown.

ok, well the superhuge good news is that my famous match-making experiment between my best friend and my cousin reached its one year reunion while we were in cape may. they've been dating for almost a year, and last week, he proposed. she said yes. we had champagne when they got back to the house. it was mahvelous......... :)

[sidenote: i am SO a fan of people getting married. they should do it more often, but only once and it's good for life. did that make sense?]

there were lots of fun family times at the beach this week. it was really fun - i love the part of these extended-family vacations that involves serious cross-generational interaction necessary when between 14 and 24 (depending on the day) people are under the same roof. some serious QT with cousins from 1 1/2 to 30-something, with aunts and uncles, and even with my grandfather, who miraculously got to come with.

and i read a really really interesting book. if you (a) liked jane eyre and/or pride and prejudice, (b) liked wuthering heights but always wished the men would behave like men instead of like 5 year olds, and (c) can handle the idea of a book longer than 400 pages (this one is more like 650), let me recommend wilkie collins' lady in white. i read the whole dang thing in less than 5 days. :) oh, and it's kinda a girlie book and yet not exclusively - in that respect, it's much more like wuthering heights.

sidenote: the mavs are being good boys and playing well and with heart and pride. me gusta mucho. (the past couple of games have been embarrassing though, i will admit.) humbling that sizey texas ego you know we have...

we saw cars while we were on vacay. it was cute

the bad stuff that happened was that out of the 20-some-odd people who were in the house at various times throughout the week, 7 of us got rather sick. i somehow managed to get sick twice (yes, we all know i have extremely bad chances against most illnesses that come my way), and the second time was saturday night. i have never been so sick in my life. i hardly slept. i couldn't come home sunday because i could hardly handle a quick shower, let alone a 3 hour car drive to the airport and all that was to follow it. i came home monday night, but was really light-headed and suffering from a pretty intense headache. i've been exhausted as my body has been trying to recover.

i have also read some books i didn't like. prime example: something borrowed. (i know i know - what was i thinking?)

then there was a lovely experience where i really realized in a whole new way just how bad i am with money. i just don't understand it. mom and i have outlined a gameplan to pinpoint the problem and fix it. it just scares me because i thought i was being more careful. at least i didn't do irreparable damage to anything (like my credit report or my tenants' electricity). sure is a good thing you can't overdraw the grace of God. and at least i still have time to learn before i really could do some serious damage.

gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo mavs!

happy news

i have some happy news: i get to go hang with the fam and the extended fam and em and her sis and pop REALLY soon. like in 3 days or so. yay for that. oh, and at the beach. :-D

His Love Can Never Fail

this is a hymn on the new indelible grace cd, which i so far think is excellent. that said, i have only gotten to song 7 or something... i keep listening to the other ones over and over again because i like them so much...

without further ado,

His Love Can Never Fail
i do not ask to see the way
my feet will have to tread,
but only that my soul may feed
upon the living Bread.
tis better far that i should walk
by faith close to His side;
i may not know the way i go
but, oh, i know my Guide

His love can never fail, His love can never fail
my soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail
my soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail

and if my feet would go astray,
they cannot, for i know
that Jesus guides my falt'ring steps
as joyfully i go.
and though i may not see His face,
my faith is strong and clear
that in each hour of sore distress
my Savior will be near

His love can never fail, His love can never fail
my soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail
my soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail

i will not fear, though darkness come
abroad o'er all the land,
if i may only feel the touch
of His own loving hand.
and though i tremble when i think
how weak i am, and frail,
my soul is satisfied to know
His love can never fail

His love can never fail, His love can never fail
my soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail
my soul is satisfied to know His love can never fail
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
isn't that beautiful?

Great Quotes from The Wedding

"Love is sustained by action, a pattern of devotion in the things we do for each other every day." (63)

Jane: "I wanted someone who wanted to marry a wife and mother, and someone who would respect my choice." (156)

"Though I'd been the same man I'd been for the past year - a man deeply in love with his wife and trying his best to keep her - I'd made one small but significant adjustment.
"This week, I hadn't been focusing on my problems and doing my best to correct them. This week, I'd been thinking of her; I'd committed myself to helping her with family responsibilities, I'd listened with interest whenever she spoke, and everything we discussed seemed new. I'd laughed at her jokes and held her as she'd cried, apologized for my faults, and showed her the affection she both needed and deserved. In other words, I'd been the man she'd always wanted, the man I once had been, and - like an old habit rediscovered - I now understood that it was all I ever needed to do for us to begin enjoying each other's company once again." (182)

here's the link again.

Oh, The DaVinci Code

this evening i attended a talk given by skip ryan about the davinci code. he talked about what is wrong with the history and theology presented in the book and the film. it was quite good, and i commend to you in particular his statement that christian thought that isn't thought out isn't worth thinking at all. (think about that for a minute ;-)) but of course, while the lies and deceit, comingled with just enough truth to be believable, are dangerous, what is perhaps more dangerous to those of us who do think about these things is the distraction from the gospel it provides. Christ died to save sinners. the davinci code steals that from us - it, like all forms of gnosticism, makes salvation and redemption something we can handle. but the truth is that we are hopelessly screwed up and nothing short of the death and resurrection of the Son of God could remedy the mess i've gotten myself into (and by mess i mean eternal damnation) and restore me to right relationship with God Himself through union with the Son. we should remember this, the heart of the gospel, when we talk with people about the book and the film. after all, facts help, but they don't change hearts. only the Holy Spirit working through the gospel, which paul tells us is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16)

[please do not hear me say that the greatest benefit of the gospel is that we don't burn in hell. as i am learning in God is the gospel, it is rather that God is glorified and that we get to be with Him - revelling in His presence - forever. that should bring to mind the westminster catechism's first question...]