reading and crafting.

somewhere in my busy schedule, i have made room this week for some of my favorite things.

yesterday morning i woke up and instead of snuggling up on our couch as usual, i decided to drive to starbucks for my quiet time. nothing like their green tea, a cinnamon scone, the Word, and some wonderful journaling. and to top it off, i ran into steph and bliss there.

and then there's the crafting i've been doing. i love crafts. if it could be my full time job, i would sign up like yesterday. decopage is my craft of choice right now. i'll post a few pics later. i'm by no means a pro or really good at all, but man oh man do i love it. oh, and scrapbooking. i always love that.

listening. i've been able to do so much of it lately. is it weird that i love sitting and hearing people? not even really replying...just listening. living in such a place as a college dorm affords me many opportunities for this. and sometimes the listening leads to really wonderful and challenging conversations. especially with my roommates. have i mentioned how grateful i am for them? sometimes we sit for an unplanned hour or two just talking and speaking truth into each other. its wonderful. i love have them right next to me.

simple things with justin. i have just been constantly longing for and excited to hang out with him. and this past week we've had so many opportunities to do just that. like tuesday, i was able to spend 3 hours at his house waiting for the tow truck that never ended up coming. but we had fun. and yesterday, i just rode along with him to the grocery store. and we laughed the entire time. and then, last night he let me come over and sleep cuddled up next to him while he watched a movie with his housemates. how sweet. and then my favorite! tonight is date night and that means just us, no one else. a span of a few hours where we just get to enjoy each other uninterrupted. and i have no idea what we're doing. its his week. i have a feeling it has something to do with seeing Nights in Rodanthe. we'll see :)

and my all time favorite, reading. ok, most of the reading i've been doing is for class. but i'm enjoying it. really. first of all, i have to say that i absolutely LOVE my Christian Marriage class. Dr. Snyder is so wise and has such vast biblical knowledge. we're reading Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas, and its really good. granted, i'm not married or even engaged. but i appreciate a good book that is challenging and real. i have no idea what marriage is like first hand. but i do know what relationship with God looks like and what relationships with other look like and how connected the two are. Thomas has really great points. pick it up. its good. promise. I'm also reading some apologetic books for my Contemporary Christian Belief class. Not my favorite class (soley due to the prof), but some of the reading is good. We're reading about pluralism right now. interesting. And, as ashamed as i am to admit it, i'm still crawling through Having a Mary Heart in a Martha Word. i've been reading it since this summer. and i'm due to start reading the Shack any day. but first, i plan on rereading Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks this afternoon (before we hopefully see the movie tonight).

have i mentioned that i love not having class on thursdays?