Kristin’s Blog

Current temperature: 30 F (Feels like 17 F)
Currently listening to: "In Like a Lion (Always Winter)" by Relient K
Current imperative assignment: :-)
Current mood: Calm and Happy

Well, yesterday I ran to Target and bought Wall-E because Lillie and I really wanted to watch it. So I grabbed it, came back to my apartment, and read a little bit of Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer (I'm addicted to the Twilight series...I can't deny it). Dave called and decided we ought to go to Chick-Fil-A for dinner again since he had more coupons, so I pick up Dave and John and we head off for some deliciousness. As we are sitting there (and run into two other groups of PBU students...we all love Chick-Fil-A) I mentioned that Lillie and I were planning to watch this movie. Dave immediately got excited and asked to join. Once Dave joins anything, a party is destined to happen.

Before I knew it, Dave, John, Jordan, Lillie, and Kevin are in my apartment with me and we are watching the life of this little endearing robot. I cannot believe how engrossed I was with his ways, his personality, his voice (even though he said virtually two words: "Wall-E" and "Ev-ah"). I kind of feel bad for Kevin because he was sitting next to me and I kept freaking out about how cute Wall-E was.

But not only was the movie entertaining and heart-warming...it had a message. A message about how we have failed to communicate well with each other as human beings. We have become lazy, learned to depend far too much on technology, and stopped enjoying the earth we live in. It took this little robot who, while seemingly insignificant, brought humanity back to its senses through his love and creativity.

Wall-E kept trying to hold hands with Eve. He was nervous and she wouldn't let him right away, but he persisted (when Wall-E would reach out his hand to Eve I got all squirmy in my seat in anticipation...poor Kevin). And finally, finally they connect...truly connect. And that is when sparks fly and the connection is made.

I think in a lot of ways we, especially as Christians, ought to be more like Wall-E. He found value in his work, he was self-sufficient, but he also loved those around him and cared for them and did what was in their best interest. He brought people to the "light" through disturbing their old ways of life and showed them what true living is like. The captain said at one point, "I don't want to survive! I want to live!" What a powerful statement! Because of Wall-E's love for Eve, he brought joy and truth to those around him. And his love for Eve was consistent. Even when she treated him poorly, he was there trying to reconcile the relationship. He remained loyal and true to her even when she was "shut down" and cared for her and waited for her.

Jordan said it best when the movie was over. "This really isn't a movie for children; it's a movie for adults." I agree with him. What lessons we can take from him! To love selflessly as Christ loved us, to persevere through all trials, to find joy in what we have been created to do, to help others to truly live...

So watch the movie. It's definitely worth your time. You will fall in love with this little, awkward robot. And desperately want to hold his open hand.

Posted by Kristin at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Current temperature: 32 F
Currently listening to: "Lion's Mane" by Iron and Wine
Current imperative assignment: NONE! Just a little odds and ends before the end of the semester.
Current mood: Relaxed

I just need to say how blessed I am. Thanksgiving is a week away, and I am sitting on my couch in my apartment, getting ready to read and crawl into bed after a long week. I am sipping tea and wearing moccasins and wondering at the world.

So in case you missed the memo this summer, I was in a pretty severe car accident in June and shattered my heel along with some other injuries. I had been on crutches since that point and have had them off for two and a half weeks now.

And I am just so grateful that God spared me and that he helped me heal and that now I am almost completely back to normal (except for a small limp that I still get made fun of for, but I don't mind :-)).

But you know what is so wonderful? In that time that I was on crutches, I really needed to learn to depend on those around me. I'm not going to lie, the thought of going back to school while very incompetent was scary for me. I didn't want to inconvenience anyone, but I knew I would need help carrying things, getting meals, getting to class from the Penndel apartments. But, I just have to say, that I am blessed to be in a community that cares so much. I never once was left in need at this school.

We had a chapel earlier this semester based out of I John, in learning how to really love our brothers. I know often times as Christians, we struggle with what exactly that should look like and how we ought to go about doing it. But I have to just rejoice in the fact that I have been shown so much love here. People have truly sacrificed of themselves for my sake. It's a lovely thing and I feel so unworthy of all the care I have been given.

But I am thankful for it, certainly. :-)

Here are some pictures of the journey:

Here it was with all of the rods and pins...

Guess which one is me...

AND I was in three weddings on crutches...

My dear friends Steph and Brandon's wedding...

Singing at my friend Jamie's wedding...

My cousin's wedding...

Then I upgraded to this boot!

This is me very happy to be free from crutches!

<3

Posted by Kristin at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Current temperature: 56 F
Currently listening to: "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Just got done watching Elf. For the third time since October.
Current imperative assignment: 8-10 page Rapture paper for Prophetic Books II...still...
Current mood: Ready for the weekend!

Well, I am grateful that it's the weekend tomorrow. This has been a rough week in many ways. I think it's because it's that time of the semester, you know? Things are getting hectic, Thanksgiving is coming up.

It's unbelievable how fast time goes and all the places we've traveled through along the way. I was just thinking about that, thinking about my life before PBU and how distant it feels, yet part of it beats in my soul. I think about what it would have been like had I done something else, met different people. It's so odd.

I had a good friend of mine ask me this year if I could have gone back and done it all over again, would I have picked PBU. She knew that I had originally struggled with coming here, knowing no one, not sure if this was the place for me. And I looked at her with confidence and I said, "Yes." Because I have grown so much and God has taught me so much. And I have met such wonderful people here, people that mean more to me than I can even express.

So I guess when everything is going insane, I can still be grateful for what I have here. And I am. I wouldn't be anywhere else.

Posted by Kristin at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Current temperature: 40 F
Currently listening to: "I Hate Christmas Parties" by Relient K
Current imperative assignment: 8-10 page Rapture paper for Prophetic Books II
Current mood: Fairly miserable.

Well, last night my emotions decided to go haywire and poop out on me and fall away. I am all right with it, to an extent. I decided to go to bed and skip my 8:00 class because I could and there was no real need for me to be there.

I woke up feeling sick and in the same condition as the night before. I hate waking up feeling awful. I rolled over and stayed in bed for an hour.

Some days are just lousy, I think. I get frustrated because people tend to label me as the "happy" one that never has a bad day and always can find something to be positive in. What a misunderstanding.

I think it's bad that we as Christians assume that of each other as well. "Oh, you have Jesus in your life, everything is wonderful. You should never cry, you should never experience sadness." Right...right...because once you become a Christian you are no longer a human being? And Jesus was always happy all of the time?

So it's not as though I want to cater to my mood and dwell on it. But when you are hurt, you are hurt. And then you crawl into God's arms and cry or scream or sit there and stare at nothing in particular. But you do it with him.

So I am going to stop writing this and do that and go to bed.

This was in Budapest, Hungary. I like the picture.

Posted by Kristin at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Current temperature: 46 F
Currently listening to: "Here (In Your Arms)" by Hellogoodbye
Current imperative assignment: 8-10 page Rapture paper for Prophetic Books II
Current mood: Happy

Well, I'm not going to lie, I was a bit concerned about how this weekend was going to work out. I woke up on Friday morning without any plans for the day except for possibly getting a head start on a paper. But by the time the day was half way through, I was booked.

So Friday after class, my good friend Rachel came by my apartment and we talked about life and love and our faults and other such things. And we sipped coffee. Rachel and I became friends last year after we found out we had a few connections with people outside of campus, and we have been kindred spirits ever since. After that, Dave, Seth, Sara and I ran out to Chick-Fil-A for dinner. We used the free coupons that the boys have stockpiled from going to about half a dozen grand openings. After that, we decided to go to the woodwind concert on campus. It was dedicated to the WWII era and the music was quite rousing. I have to admit, half way through I got a bit depressed. We were with a huge group of my friends, friends I haven't spent tons of time with since they live in Heritage and I live in Penndel. But we had a good night just the same. Then Lillie came back to my apartment with me and Danette joined us. We just spent a few hours cuddling on my couch and catching up.

Saturday came far too quickly and I slept through my alarm. I got ready and went to part of the World View conference at school. My favorite speaker is Japanese-American artist Makoto Fujimura. He donated a beautiful, may I repeat BEAUTIFUL, piece of artwork to our school. He was discussing the story of the woman (Mary) that broke the alabaster jar of perfume on Christ and how that was a "beautiful" thing...that sometimes we as Christians don't believe in an extravagant God and we may do extravagant things for him because he deserves it. I could not stop absorbing his words. Then Lillie and I hopped in my new car (which I have affectionately named Jet-Puff because of it's marshmallow-like resemblance) and headed toward Schwenksville, Pennsylvania. The drive was stunning. Autumn has lingered preciously around here, and the deep yellows of the leaves caused us to gawk in amazement. We got to our friend Kevin's house where a bunch of our friends were spending a weekend away from campus. We had such a good time. We made a bonfire, had scarecrow making competitions, and went on a hayride. We played barn games that included bobbing for apples, winkum, and, my personal favorite, trainwreck (which I almost won with my partner Adam regardless of my half-cripple state...pretty impressive).

And I decided that my friends are pretty fantastic and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. We spent a lot of time laughing at each other and being in fellowship together. I love them so much.

So here are just a few pictures from the weekend.

Here's to Monday! :-)

Our group with a slightly odd looking Grandmother Scarecrow...

Green sweatshirts!

Attractive.

Kevin and I before I demolished him.

The group after I left...aren't they lovely?

Posted by Kristin at 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Current temperature: 58 F
Currently listening to: nothing...but Mika's "Happy Endings" was in my head this morning.
Current imperative assignment: Research Essay for Advanced Composition
Current mood: tired

Well, dear friends, I have to say that I have been tired and continue to be tired of the election discussion that has been happening for what seems to be forever. It's no big secret around here that I am not a fan of the whole ordeal. And here's why.

People tend to forget people are people. And while that can relate to the candidates, that's not really what I mean. I mean that people are not Democrats or Republicans. But we often use politics as a way to attack others' opinions and views. It's true that politics are very important; we all know that. And we all have our own opinions about what we value and what we think is important. However, when we align them with a political party or a representative of some kind, we give those opinions a face. That makes things a lot more personal. And when your face is associated with what the candidate or party is standing for, it automatically makes you a target for criticism. Because those in positions of potential power are bound to be criticized; we are imperfect human beings. We make mistakes and we defend others that make mistakes because we have already given them our allegiance.

I just get frustrated with all of the anger and selfishness that can result out of political discussion. Rarely do we take the opportunity to hear someone else's thoughts. Now, don't think that I am all about tolerance and that I don't believe in having values or anything like that. But so many of us have compromised our values of loving others by verbally blasting those that have different opinions than us.

As Christians, we are to stand above reproach. Through the grace of God and the enabling of the Holy Spirit, we can demonstrate the love of Christ to those around us. We ought to use wisdom, to assess our environment, to answer to governing authorities. But our allegiance is to God and to God alone. Am I incorrect in believing that we are to, as Christ-followers, be above reproach in our words and our deeds?

I am learning more and more how to understand the sovereignty of God. Sometimes he gives us what we want, and sometimes he doesn't. How could he possibly fulfill all of our desires when our desires contradict each other's from time to time? But regardless of what happens, he will bring about good. I do believe in that.

So, anyway, I am tired and this is not well thought out but I thought I would get some of my thoughts out.

Love, love, love.
Kristin

Posted by Kristin at 9:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So right now I am at my roommate Jodi's house. It's her 21st birthday and we celebrated by watching movies and playing with her nieces and nephews and eating a cake that looked like a Jack-O-Lantern. It was nice.

And for some reason, Kendra, Jodi, and I have been craving Christmas. We watched Elf together in our apartment on October 1st. We made a deal with Kendra that we could only watch Elf once a month until Thanksgiving. So today was our second month.

We're all pretty much in the Christmas mood. I think the snow day this week messed everything up. But it's all right. I like it.

Happy gain-an-hour-of-sleep-and-lose-an-hour-of-daylight-day. :-)

Posted by Kristin at 9:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)