"a little poop in the brownies..." and other valuable life lessons.

Well it certainly has been a while since I've taken the time to post, but I have been reading updates from you beautiful friends! So excited for all the babies and wonderful things going on in everyone's lives! I really enjoy the blogging world for allowing me to keep up with peeps.

So in the last month and a half I have: 
- Finished the spring semester here in Redding with 4 out of 4 A's thank you very much!
- Ate at Panera Bread for the first time in forever (twice in one day just to get it all in)
- Walked through Ikea (always fun) in Sacramento
- Toured the UC Davis campus which was awesome, and decided if I were to get accepted I would gladly attend there.
- Visited my parents at home in Twentynine along with my sister for two whole weeks! Got to swim in my pool for the first time since summer 2009, too!
     - Spent some time with some close family friends, visited their church for a great service, ate at a British pub (yummy!) in Anaheim where the "poop in the brownies" lesson came in and will be explained in a moment...
- Started my summer class yesterday (Earth Science) and have already had to tell the smelly boy next to me I won't be his study partner : /
- Started reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (so good and so different from the movie!)
- Have been doing a looot of thinking and praying

So our friend Mike brought up a story his pastor shared that I remembered from way back in the day and for those who haven't heard it I'll explain. The story goes that this pastor's daughter wanted to watch a certain movie with her friends but her father said no due to it's content. She argued that it was only a small part of the movie and the rest is totally fine and, in fact, really good. After a while of going back and forth he finally gave in and the girls came over and started the movie. After a few minutes the father walked in with a tray of brownies and said, "I made you girls some brownies to eat with the movie! Although, I should warn you, I did put a little dog poop in from the back yard but I'm sure you won't even notice!" The girls were shocked and made their grossed out faces and asked why he would do that to which he responded, "I only added a little bit, don't worry! I'm sure the rest is still good and if you just ignore it, it won't even bother you." The story goes on from there and needless to say the girls learned an extremely valuable lesson, as was I reminded of the same lesson from years ago.

I have had to learn the balance over the years of "simply living life in love with Jesus" and not getting caught up in legalism while also living a life of holiness. Thinking about every thing that goes in my eyes and ears and then realizing that "a little poop in the brownies ruins the whole batch" is funny but oh so true. It would be such a long post to go into balancing simplicity with zeal, and even looking up the verses I want to reference is getting to where I want to get off this post on get on my knees.

" ..preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded..." & "you also be holy 

 in all your conduct" & "..since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:13-16

There are so many more that I've been weighing in my heart against my life but it is getting late. It has been a time of refreshment for sure and reminding of what is really important. School is challenging in so many ways but through it all I think I am learning so much more than how long the Cold War lasted, what minerals are, the culture and art of the Dogon people, the difference between the Classic and Baroque periods, and how the human digestive system works. I am really learning a longing for Truth. 


Anyway I had some time in between tests and course assignments for this crazy-fast summer class and wanted to share a little about what's been on my mind! In the next post, I'll share life lesson number two which I am taking from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and speaking of which I believe it is calling me now.