Time zone fail

I kept watching College Game Day and the clock in anticipation of the Lee Corso mascot reveal at 11:00am. "Why aren't they doing picks by now?" I wondered. Then I remembered I live in the Eastern Time Zone. Time zone fail.

"Beautiful Beautiful" - Francesca Battistelli

Don’t know how it is You looked at me
And saw the person that I could be
Awakening my heart
Breaking through the dark
Suddenly Your grace

(Chorus)
Like sunlight burning at midnight
Making my life something so
Beautiful, beautiful
Mercy reaching to save me
All that I need
You are so
Beautiful, beautiful

Now there’s a joy inside I can’t contain
But even perfect days can end in rain
And though it’s pouring down
I see You through the clouds
Shining on my face

(Chorus)

I have come undone
But I have just begun
Changing by Your grace

(Chorus)

"For the Moments I Feel Faint" - Relient K

Am I at the point of no improvement?
What of the death I still dwell in?
I try to excel, but I feel no movement.
Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?

Never underestimate my Jesus.
You're telling me that there's no hope.
I'm telling you, you're wrong.
Never underestimate my Jesus.
When the world around you crumbles,
he will be strong.
He will be strong.

I throw up my hands.
" Oh, the impossibilities."
Frustrated and tired,
where do I go from here?
Now I'm searching for the confidence I've lost so willingly.
Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fears.
I think I can't, I think I can't.
But, I think You can, I think You can.
I think I can't, I think I can't.
But, I think You can, I think You can.
Gather my insufficiencies and place them in Your hands.
Place them in Your hands.
Place them in Your hands.

Never underestimate my Jesus.
You're telling me that there's no hope.
I'm telling you, you're wrong.
Never underestimate my Jesus.
When the world around you crumbles,
he will be strong.
He will be strong.

Gonna go back in time...

Now for something completely pointless and possibly entertaining - I have decided to break my blogging hiatus to bring you this little insight into my crazy, nerdy little mind.

For no reason at all this evening, I started thinking about time travel and about how stinking cool it would be if I could actually do that...you know, in a strictly non-interfering, purely observational way. Can't pull a Marty McFly and accidentally erase myself...although I certainly wouldn't mind having Marty tag along for the company. ;)

But I digress...I was mulling all this over in my mind and decided I'd make a top 10 list of the moments in history I'd most like to visit. So...without further ado, I bring you:

Stefanie's Top 10 Moments in History She'd Most Like to Experience (in no particular order):

1. J.K. Rowling begins penning Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone at a little cafe in Scotland. (I would LOVE to see how that all began forming in her mind. I seriously admire that woman's writing skills.)
2. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his "I have a dream" speech. (I mean, really, how cool would it be to have been there? *Shiver*)
3. The Phantom of the Opera opens in West End in London. (I'd get to see the longest running musical on Broadway before all the hype!)
4. The founding fathers sign the Declaration of Independence. (What good American wouldn't want to see that?!)
5. Angered colonists protest Britain's unfair taxes at the Boston Tea Party. (I'm not really sure why, but throwing tea into the Boston Harbor just sounds like lots of fun...and rebellion!)
6. LSU defeats Oklahoma for the 2003 NCAA Football National Championship. (Oh, wait! I've already been there! It's worth a second trip though...especially since I was on the FRONT ROW! :D)
7. Jane Austen pens Pride and Prejudice. (Um...see how excited I got about J.K. Rowling up there? Multiply that times 10, and that's how giddy I'd be to meet Jane Austen. )
8. Jesus Christ is born in a stable in Bethlehem. (This is the most pivotal moment in history when God stepped down to earth as a baby. Can't miss that.)
9. Frank Sinatra spends another night crooning to swarms of crazed teenage girls. (Frank in his heyday...count me in! I'd totally have been a bobbysoxer.)
10. Gutenberg invents the movable type press, allowing books to be printed easily and quickly and providing a way for the common man to have access to them. (I'd have to shake his hand and say, "Thanks, Johannes, for making my job possible and for bringing me years of delight in the written word.")

So if you didn't think I was a nerd before, you sure do now! You can't admit that you don't want to jump in my time machine too though!

Word of advice: hands off my Marty. ;)

Song of the day: By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North

Just really feeling this today...

Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face.
Just don't turn away.

Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?
To where will you go child?
Tell me where will you run?
To where will you run?

And I'll be by your side
Wherever you fall
In the dead of night
Whenever you call
And please don't fight
These hands that are holding you.
My hands are holding you.

Look at these hands and my side.
They swallowed the grave on that night.
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life.
I want to give you life.

(Chorus 2x)

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you
I'll never let you go

It's a bittersweet symphony

The last few weeks have been quite a whirlwind...full of so much change, my head is still spinning, so I'm taking this Saturday morning to sit on my third floor patio with my new beagle/basset puppy Darcy and soak it all in. It's really the first chance I've gotten to breathe since finding out I got the job in North Carolina.

Let me catch you all up. First of all, God is good. Very, very good. He truly does things more wonderful than we can ask or imagine. I have a great apartment, a job I adore (I'm the new children's librarian at the Kernersville Branch Library!), a precious puppy dog (my first friend in NC!), a new car (fond farewell to my 98 Mustang and a fond hello to my Edge!) and the fresh start I've been waiting for. God does answer prayers, and I don't ever trust Him enough.

This morning I checked out all the adorable little shops in downtown K-Vegas (as the locals call it). I had breakfast (for $3.00!) at this hole-in-the-wall Irish diner and a delicious red velvet cupcake at this cutesy bakery. I found some really nice consignment shops and gift shops and...a bookstore/cafe! Score! To quote Annie, "I think I'm gonna like it here!"

I'm looking forward to meeting lots of new people and finding a good church where I can meet people my age again. There are tons of young people up here...and plenty of good churches to choose from! I sure do miss a certain group of 8th grade girls though! So glad we got to have that slumber party before I left...love y'all much!

Also, thank you all for your prayers for me and my family during the past few weeks. It was rough losing my grandmother, but Mimi was a very vivacious woman who loved the Lord, and she will always be with us. She made her living as a theatre director, and I'm sure right now she's putting on a performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Heaven...and bossing people around as usual. :) I miss her a lot, and it's hard to believe she's actually gone, but I know she's in a better place. Please keep praying for my grandfather as he copes with the silence around his house...such bubbly personalities are the easiest to notice when they are gone.

Anyway, here's to a new chapter of my life as an (gasp!) adult! "The rest is still unwritten..."

Don't blink...you might be MISSING something

We had an incredible DNOW weekend with our 8th grade girls. The theme was Missing, which was appropriate since I have apparently been missing something about our girls. At some point, I must have blinked and they turned from amazing, goofy, fun fifth-graders into beautiful, mature young women in Christ. I see them every week, and I was still amazed at how much they've grown in their faith. Nothing excites me more or makes me trust more in God than seeing their excitement for Him and His word. And, I'm just gonna tell ya...I got choked up when I saw them all huddled up praying for each other. God is good. I am blessed. Ministering always seems to give you back more than you can manage to give out.

Love you, girls. Thank you for allowing Nichole and me to be a part of your lives and your sisters in Christ. You'll never know how much your friendships mean to me. Thank you for revitalizing my own relationship with God this weekend by witnessing your love for Him.

And I'm so proud you didn't throw fruit!!!