3O DAYS WITHOUT SUGAR

That's right, an effort to do the impossible. While those who know me best realize that this is something I say a lot without really following through, this time it's the shizzle. Meaning for real. "And why would things be different this time, Amanda?" you might ask.
Because I'm blogging about it, that's why! I've never tried blogging before!

Here are the rules.
1. I basically get to make up the rules as I go. Coldstone is and always will be an exception to the rule.
2. No desserts
3. No white bread or pasta
4. Fruit sugars, dressings and sauces, and honey are the only acceptable sugars

So this plan was actually implemented quite a while ago, and currently I'm on Day 10. I'm not going to give an update every single day because frankly, no one cares that much and I don't have time.

Finally, this isn't a weight loss plan, or anything really health-related (although the health benefits are a plus). This, my friends, is simply a battle of wills. I've always wanted to go an entire month, so much so that I put it on my bucket list. What better time to start working on your bucket list than right now?

Be encouraging.

When life gives you spare time...

Spring break. I'll be starting off my break by flying to Florida, where I will lounge on the beach for a couple days, until I have a nice tan. Then I'll road trip to Nashville and kick it with the stars for a few more days. Finally, I'll take a scenic drive home with my new-found music-making boyfriend where we'll horseback ride in this beautiful Minnesota weather and then sleep for 2 days straight.

Yeah or I'll just go home because I'm poor as dirt, while I sit on my couch and watch movies all day.
Meh. I'm not complaining, just daydreaming. I enjoy being home.

I discovered that underneath my rough exterior, I really don't like blood and gore. In the right context it's tolerable, but otherwise it makes me scream and cry like a little girl. I watched the movie 127 Hours and the little girl part of me appeared out of nowhere. Just a warning if you're thinking about watching it. Come prepared with a blanket, cuddle buddy, or some other good excuse to leave when the moment calls for it.

So after making this discovery, I also discovered that my Religion & Rhetoric professor apparently doesn't have the same distaste of blood and guts as I do. In fact it seems to me like he quite enjoys it because he assigned Saving Private Ryan and The Passion as my movie watching homework for spring break. Thanks Prof. You're the best.

I'm currently watching the Passion while using my computer screen as a sight for traumatized eyes.

Yet once again I'm reminded of what Christ took for us, and it's a vivid reminder. One of those uncomfortable thoughts that we put away and take for granted but...the part we (or I) often forget is just how great a sacrifice it was. It was huge. I'm only watching 15 percent of the movie and I can still see that.

There's also a scene in the movie where Jesus is writing something in the sand. When I was really little, that story in the Bible always used to fascinate me. I always wanted to know what He was writing and why at that moment. Maybe it was nothing, but Jesus had some pretty important things to deal with at the moment, yet he chose to take a moment to write something down. So here we go, it's gonna start driving me crazy again.

MandyPies

A blog too many

     I find it easy to be carefree and assume that bad things will never happen to me. Disaster seems to happen so far away from where I live. It happens on TV, it happens in the paper, it happens in the news, but it never happens here.
     I also find it easy to boast of my extreme confidence in life and in God. I have noticed that I claim not to let the little things bother me and that it's important to keep a good attitude, no matter what the situation. God is in control, right? Any trials are but bumps in the road and must simply be overlooked.
     But the hypocrisy of it all hit me in the face. It's fairly easy to keep a smile on your face when your life is all rainbows and roses. What about when you break your hard drive and lose almost a life's worth of data? What about when your home and the homes of your friends and family are destroyed in an earthquake? What about when you lose a friend in a freak accident? When you're stabbed in the back by someone you loved? Where is the joy you once boasted about?
     I realized that my life rarely veers off the track and when it does, I lose it. I lose my composure, my patience, my temper and my faith in the One who promised to get me through it. God promised to give me joy and strength through all things, but when the going gets rough I push Him away, only to let Him back in when I've got things under control again. "See, God? I figured everything out and now I'm full of your joy again, aren't you proud?"
     I desire the joy of the Lord in all things, but most of all, I desire it in the lowest and most pitiful moments. The ones where I've been stripped of all of my pride and sense of belonging, and the moments in which I have every right to be miserable.
     I feel like when I have joy where there should be misery, God has accomplished a great thing.

Home.

Home.

Bubble baths and spaghetti dinners. Spaghetti that's so good you eat in the kitchen by the stove to slurp the sauce out of the pan.

Waking up in the morning and going back to bed With the puppy.

Pajamas all day.

Afternoons of Criminal Minds...which make me appreciate that I live in Barnum, Minnesota.

(Fully funded shopping trips...)

And an endless amount of hugs!

" Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave and  grow old wanting to get back to" - John Pearce

When life passes you by...

The beginning of every week sounds the same: "Well, it's a Monday", "This week is going by ssooo slowly", I can't wait til the weekend!" "I have so much homework to do" and "All I need to do is get through this week."

I think we need to change this for two reasons.

One...we tend to miss life as it rushes by us, especially if we're looking towards the future and missing that which is right in front of our eyes. Next thing you know, it's been a year since you've been home and a week since you told your parents you love them. Next thing you know, you're a college graduate looking back on all the times you sat in your room with friends sharing a good laugh about nothing in particular and you'll marvel at how fast they came and went.

Two...I think we should learn to love the tasks that are set before us. Yes they may be hard and grueling, but that's how we grow. We can't learn more, reason more, say more, and do more if we never challenge ourselves. Not only that, but many of us have been given the opportunity of a higher education which, although more common in this day and age, is not a commodity. Work is hard, but that's the road we chose to take. Therefore, embrace it and attack it with all the soul you can muster.

Love more than the weekends. Thank God it's Tuesday!

MandyPies

Self-Pity

As you may well know, there have been events in my life lately that have been causing me both emotional and mental turmoil...and for good reason. This morning was proving to be especially hard because these "events" had been nagging me in the back of my mind since last night.

I ran into one of my good friends today, who was also having a bad day (oh Monday). She started telling me what was on her mind and what was causing her stress. When I left her I hugged her, and as I was walking away, I said a quick shout out to God for her, mostly because I wanted her to feel better but didn't know that I could do anything that was in my power to do. The moment I said that prayer I was hit with a wave of what was a mixture of rationality, certainty, peace, and...emotion. I said a prayer for HER that had nothing to do with me, and the simple fact of incorporating God into my everyday life and acknowledging that He was here to help made my emotional turmoil disappear. I need to remember that God is not far off and that when we tackle life together, things make more sense.

I don't think it's selfish to cry out to God knowing that it will make you feel better. I think that's what He wants more than anything.

MandyPies

Boxing God In

God can't come through for us if we never give Him the opportunity to. Too many times I purposely take the safe route to avoid losing control and crashing-and-burning, but I think in doing that, I'm restricting God from doing what He's best at - taking control.

Love

Weeelll here is my thought.

You know how people freak out about saying “I love you” to someone else? Why?

Why can we say I love you to our friends, but skirt around the issue when it’s someone we really like and reeaallyy care about?

Love is unconditional. In any occasion. Love doesn’t come in different flavors for different situations. When you tell someone you love them, you should be telling them that “Hey, I care about you more than you think. I would give anything I could to make you happy. In fact, I care about your happiness more than I do my own. AND I’ll choose to love you no matter how much you piss me off.”

That’s the kind of love we have for family and friends. The love we have for our significant others is based on the same foundation. It’s basically saying the EXACT same thing but also “Hey, I’m actually very attracted to you too and I like sharing things with you that I might not share with everyone else”.
So it shouldn’t be such a big deal to tell someone you love them.

Next, ever think about God’s love? If you thought the previously mentioned love was cool, try thinking about HIS love.

Ever seen The Mummy Returns? There is this one scene where the husband and wife are innocently digging for archaeological ruins in a large cavern type thing. And then all of a sudden (well, not really, there is an actual reason), this big wave of water bursts through the wall and envelops them. That’s what I think of when I think of God’s love. It’s enormous and it feels unending and it’s impossible to run away from. It bears down on you with such a weight that it’s almost impossible to breathe!

Ok now think of the person you love most in the world. Or think of someone who you know loves you more than you deserve. If you can’t do either of those, think of someone who REALLY knows how to love another person. It’s incredible isn’t it? I’ve seen a few of those people, and when I think of the extent to which they love another person, it makes me want to cry.

Now…think about being in love (or a sappy love movie about two people in love). It’s not a lie when people say that love makes a person glow. Being loved and loving back is such a special thing that it literally radiates from your face.

And just…imagine both of those two things time a million.

You can pick a smaller number if it’s easier.