Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time...
Although life was different than she expected it to be,
She grew to know and trust her Prince more and more each day,
Her Prince being the one who is always there for her no matter what.
Not just an earthly boy, but both God and Man...the One who died for her.
She couldn't imagine anyone better to put her trust in.
There is peace, joy, and true happiness with Him.
She has learned to give her dreams and aspirations to Him...
Because He can do MUCH more with them through her than she ever could on her own.
Life isn't a fairytale...and as the saying goes...
He never said it would be easy...just that we wouldn't have to do it alone.
She has been saved by grace because of Him...and because of that...
Will live happily ever after.

Image from http://vi.sualize.us

New Hobby...

At the end of the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Science Museum (where I currently work), there is a beautiful display of the new St. John's Bible...history's NEWEST handwritten and illustrated Bible which you can see at http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/. Well, it has inspired me to try and learn some calligraphy. So, when I went to the art store to buy supplies to make my mother's day gift, I also picked up some calligraphy pens! So I spent the evening practicing. It's really fun and sort of addicting! There are SO many different styles of calligraphy so I'm excited to learn more. Here is a little glimpse of my first few "practice pages".

Week 1:

Week 2:

Tricia & Stephan's "Storm" Shower

When beginning to plan my roommate Tricia's Bridal Shower, one of the bridesmaids suggested we do a "Storm" shower instead. I had never heard of a Storm shower before, but once the term was explained, everyone agreed it was the perfect idea. Tricia and Stephan's friend group consists mostly of couples, and we all hang out together usually. Well, a Storm shower is basically a bridal shower, but the guys can come, too! (Hidden perk: Both the bride AND groom-to-be get shower presents). They will be getting married in Kenosha, Wisconsin, so all of their Minnesota friends invited to the wedding were invited to the Storm shower.

We had the shower at Lindsay's (maid-of-honor) mom's home, which was perfect! We knew we wanted to document it, so Lindsay's mom offered to let us use her DSLR camera...so I got to play! Here are a few lil snapshots of the Storm shower.
Lindsay, Me, and Rachel went a little early to set-up.
Close-up of their cake that Rachel decorated=)

Food! We also had twice-baked potatoes..yum!
Rachel helping Tricia put on the "Bride-to-be" apron they made for her.
Tricia with her apron. It says "I kiss better than I cook!"

Socializing!

Playing "LaBarre Trivia".. Stephan was very stingy about giving us points for our answers!
Opening presents!

I think I can speak for everyone that the Storm shower was a success!! Best wishes Stephan and Tricia! And thanks to Rachel and Lindsay for planning it, and for those two and Randiann running all over creation to get food, supplies, gifts and prizes!!
If the shower was this much fun..I can't wait for the wedding!!

Life by Numbers

Since I have had a mysterious fever for the past week, my life seems invaded by numbers. My daily identity has become a number.

For example: Mom/Roommate/Boyfriend: "How are you today?" Me: "Well, last night I was 101.7, but now i'm down to 100.3" Because of this, I am inspired to blog about my day today...in numbers.
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Tonight, I found 1 spider crawling on my bed. I usually don't mind spiders...but I'm not a huge fan when they decide to take a lil stroll across my sheets.≈

(This is the least creepy spider picture I could find ha)
I bought groceries tonight, and strawberries were on sale! So I got 2 containers of them. Hellooooo smoothies!

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Because I have to work tomorrow morning, Danielle and I went to church tonight at 6 (Saturday night service) instead! It was awesome! We tried a new church, and it was an awesome message---about the importance of Joy. Also, we both commented that its kind of nice to go to church and not have the stresses of Sunday night homework/things to do right after church. I think I can speak for both of us..that we were blessed tonight :)

It is only 33 more days from today until I get to see Nathan again! He comes to Fargo for a weekend when his friend is getting married! Then, its only about 2 1/2 months after that until he's home for good!

Well, it is now 9:35 and I am roommate-less for the night, so I'm going to read the new book I bought for $19.99 from church tonight! I will most likely blog about the book later if it is as good as I hope it to be!

All pictures except the last one from vi.sualize.us.com

Coincidence? Absolutely Not.

When you are given the same group of Bible verses, through 4 different mediums, in the time span of 9 days...that is not a coincidence. Rather, that is an Amazing God.
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I attended a Sanctus Real concert last Friday, and they shared some verses from Galatians 5 that influenced some of their lyrics off their new album...and the verses really spoke to me at this time in my life.
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On Sunday I went to Sanctuary Covenant Church and Pastor Ephrem spoke on the whole chapter of Galatians 5....my first "wow" moment.
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There is a daily Bible verse website that I check everyday, and on Tuesday, Galatians 5:16 & 17 were my daily verses....Wow...
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Today, I went to a church I've never been to before, all by myself...and guess what that Pastor spoke on? Galatians 5.
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Needless to say...My God is an Awesome God...and He really does speak to us in a variety of ways..cuz thats how much He loves us and desires for us to draw near to Him. Wow =)
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Here are a few of my favorite verses from Galatians 5:

Galatians 5

Freedom in Christ

¹It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
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¹⁶So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. ¹⁷For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
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²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. ²⁵Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Good Intentions....Awful Manners.

I recently saw an episode of Jessica Simpson's new reality show, "The Price of Beauty". When I had seen advertisements for it earlier, I thought it was going to be really cool...because the whole concept is to go around the world and see what other cultures think is beautiful. I had high hopes and was excited to see what she found. However, I was disappointed in the episode I watched. She had gone to Thailand..and she did find interesting perspectives on beauty..for example they value pale skin because it shows a symbol of high status because those who have lower class jobs usually work out in the sun which causes them to have darker skin.
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I really like how she is truly interested in learning new things from women around the world, and how open and honest she is with them. However, what I found to be disappointing was her occasional lack of respect and cultural sensitivity shown. For example, their host Thai woman showed them a street vendor who sold fried bugs...which have good nutrients that keep your skin healthy and beautiful. They all tried a bug, and made a HUGE scene in the middle of the market, gagging and screaming in a very obnoxious way. Yeah, eating fried bugs is gross...but these are delicacies to the Thai people...you need to show some respect. Jessica also had a laughing attack during a meditation with a Buddhist monk. That's a very sacred ritual to them, you need to keep it together. Yeah it makes for funny tv...but it also makes Americans look even more full of ourselves and hopelessly ethnocentric than we already are.
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Don't get me wrong, I will still probably watch the show because of my obsession with learning about different cultures, and she does learn alot about other perceptions of beauty. I like her curiosity and adventurous spirit. With that being said, although there are good intentions and I like the idea of seeing how different cultures pursue and define beauty, I hope Jessica and her friends also learn to be more respectful and culturally sensitive throughout their experience.

5 points=An Update.

Updates on my life within the last month or so....

1. I spent a week in Arizona mid February, visiting my lovely family there [Grandma, Aunt, and 4 wonderful girl cousins=)]
Me with the two youngest girls..Bryana and Brooklyn

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2. I then proceeded to get a new job! Science Museum of Minnesota--as a Visitors Assistant for the new exhibit--The Dead Sea Scrolls. LOVE it so far!!
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3. Then I made a last minute decision to go to North Carolina to visit Nathan for about 5 days after my job training but before I actually started. Had a BLAST! (I feel very blessed to have taken 2 big trips less than a month apart!)

Nathan and I with our Twins Logo sandcastle

4. Beans the Gecko is now happy and eating! Tonight he ate 8 worms...that is his record for one sitting since he has been in my care. I also tried to hold him..but he wasn't feelin it...probly cuz he had a belly full of worms.
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5. I am mentally preparing myself to begin training for a half marathon (not brave enuf yet to tackle training for the full!). However...I am very discouraged at the thought of running so many miles on a treadmill to train..so I have to map out routes in my neighborhood..and pray the weather stays fairly nice.
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Well there ya have it. 5 Highlights in the life of Kirsten....OH! one more....Traci gets to come and stay with me next weekend....and I will probably be blogging about that so stay tuned ;)