A Kiley's-Eye View

For my fiftieth post, I would like to direct your attention to a different blog. This blog is written by the lovely Kiley Adams, the youngest sister of Mark Adams, the wonderful boyfriend of me. :)

Kiley has an amazing talent for putting into words some really deep emotions. She is truely gifted in a way that may make me a little jealous from time to time. She hasn't posted much, but what is there is real and honest and wonderful. I get the feeling that, like Kiley herself, her blog will always be interesting and fresh. I love Kiley because she is always honest. If you ask her a question, she'll be honest, like it or not. Maybe I like that so much because it is a personal trait of mine, but it works out great for her as well. ;)

Another thing about Kiley is her amazing photography. She is great at taking sweet pictures, so you should ask her to post a few. Especially her collection of Ralphie photos.

I highly recommend visiting her blog. It will be worth your time. Promise.

P.S. Kiley, I hope you don't mind the commercial. I just think everyone should know about you. :)

Fall

This one is for fun! :)

I. Put your iTunes/Ruckus/Napster/etc on shuffle.
II. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
III. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Viva la Vida-Coldplay

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Boundaries-Skillet

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
All You Really Need is Love-Brad Paisley

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
No One Like You-BarlowGirl

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Rescue Is Coming-David Crowder Band

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Medley-Third Day

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Move It On Over-George Thorogood

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Up!-Shania Twain

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Can You Feel The Love Tonight-Elton John (lol)

10. WHAT IS 2+2?
Break Thru-Bleach

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Coming Toward-David Crowder Band

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Only Song-Sherwood

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Streets of Laredo-Johnny Cash

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
I Need Words-David Crowder Band

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
The Entertainer-Billy Joel

16. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Dia al Dia-Salvador

17. WHAT WILL/DID YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Blackbird-The Beatles

18. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Forsaken-Skillet

19. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Nancy Drew-Relient k

20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Nice Work If You Can Get It-Frank Sinatra

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Oh, Pretty Woman-Roy Orbison

22. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Poparazzi-Switchfoot

23. HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Knocked Out-Bleach (lol)

24. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Ammuntion-Switchfoot

25. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
That's Love-Brad Paisley

26. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
My Way-Frank Sinatra

I wish

If you are my friend and are interested in helping me build my wardrobe, see below. :)


Awesome Jacket

Cool Scarf!

Sweater Power

Whoa Blazer!

Turtleneck Time

Neat Tweed!

Perfect Shirt

Amazing Sweater!

If you feel like you should give me any of these things, let me know and I will tell you my size. :)

Inspiration

So lately everyone has been writing amazing notes on Facebook, posts on Blogger and anywhere else they can think of. I have to admit, when I see other people writing, it makes me want to write, too. I see songs and poems and short essays popping up all over the place, and I think, "hey, I should write again." However, there is a problem, and it makes me sort of mad.

I am not really a good creative writer. I so wish I was, but I'm just better at writing down real things in a real way, with a little opinion dashed in here and there. Don't get me wrong, I love writing a good editorial, and telling it like it is suits me. But there is a part of me that wants to be creative, to write novels that leave people changed, to be able to put my feeling down on paper (or a screen).

In light of this desire, I think I will try to do so. Please bear with me here...I am kind of afraid to put this out there, and it is a big step for me.

Here is a poem.

Old.
I forget the good times;
Were there any, after all?
I remember how it was before,
when we talked about everything
and there was never any pressure.
Those were good times.

Then our relationship changed.
Suddenly it was all pressure.
Was I good enough?
Were you happy?
I tried, but couldn't tell.

When the end came, my life
changed.
Hurt like that is something
I can't explain.

Slowly it got better,
I was happy just to say
hello
every now and then.
Peace.

Sometimes I wonder
the truth behind it all.
Not often, though.
I hope you are doing well.

Here is another one.

New.
Thinking of you
brings joy to me.
I've never before felt
this way.

We fight, sure.
It makes us stronger, though.
No pressure,
just expression.
Love always wins.

It's deep, this love.
A connection that makes us
a perfect team.

Honesty is the rule you follow.
I can see it in your eyes.
I treasure that.

I am content.
You bring calm to
all of my storms.


Okay, I think that I got that out of my system. :)

Hopefully I can now move on and write that report that I need to do. I hope my attempt at poetry wasn't too awful. I've never been a good judge of poems. :)

Honestly

Warning: This post will be an honest one, and may offend some people. If you would rather not feel offended because you can't handle it, feel free to tune in next time.

Okay, I've had it. I am sick and tired of all the Facebook statuses that now say something to the effect of "Obama is not my president," and "I hate Obama, he is a Socialist who will ruin America," and "Obama is the Antichrist."

As a student at DBU, it doesn't surprise me that people have, in the past week, begun praying intensely for God's will to be done with regard to the election and the direction in which our country is headed. I not only support this, I encourage it wholeheartedly. We should pray for our leaders and our nation every single day.

However, I vehemently disagree with those who have proudly proclaimed to be praying for the will of God in this election and who are now complaining at its outcome. To me, this is evidence of a very serious lack of faith in God's ability to correctly decide just who it is he would have lead us for the next four years.

How can you honestly claim to have desired God's will when, as you see the results of the election, you assume that his will hasn't been done? 1 John 5:14-15 states that "this is the confidence we have in approaching God:that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him." That is pretty clear to me. What Christian can honestly say that after all of the honest and fervent praying for God's will to be done through this election, God's will hasn't been done. He has heard us, and "we have what we have asked of him."

Therefore, let us continue to ask for God's will and guidance in the affairs of our nation. Let us pray for the man who was elected president tonight in accordance with our requests for God's will to be done in this election. Let us be a people of true faith who do not balk when we discover that God's will and our will are not always perfectly aligned.

As We Wind Down

Ok, so the election is upon us. After around 2 years of "My opponent believes..." and "I promise you...", we are down to the final stretch. Now is the time for last ditch efforts, get out the vote campaigns and long lines at your local polling place. "I Voted" stickers are everywhere, polls are being conducted every ten minutes and the pundits are going crazy.

Everyone has election fever. People are getting defensive about their positions, defensive to the point of forgetting who their friends are. Why is this? Why would you alienate the people you know in favor of some guy who will likely never know you exist? It is definitely important to have political views, and to be able to defend them well, but there needs to be a line somewhere. When intelligent debate turns into belligerent spewing of rhetoric, there is a problem. Not only does this make you appear to be uneducated, it also causes your friends to feel like a normal conversation with you is no longer possible. Passion is good, but only if it has a direction to it. Use your strong feelings for your candidate of choice in a good way, not one that turns people off.

Keep in mind how important it is to be fair to each candidate. Don't spread around things about either candidate, good or bad, without first checking the facts. Snopes.com and factcheck.org are great places to start. Don't believe every forward you read, or every voting guide you are handed. Don't believe everything people tell you, but instead do your own research.

And, no matter what happens tomorrow at the polls, remember this: no matter who wins, whether you agree with him or not, he deserves your respect as the leader of your nation. If you don't like it, feel free to say so, as long as you voted. You can join in with other people in voicing their dissatisfaction by campaiging for change in the next available election. Use your voice in a positive way rather than just complaining. If your man wins, celebrate, but not to the point of being obnoxious. We are all Americans, created equal, worthy of respect.

All

When I think back on all of the amazing memories I have of my trip to Seoul, it is so hard to hammer out a list of favorites. I met so many truly amazing people, people that I want to know for the rest of my life. I saw so many things that made me say "whoa!" and take out my camera as quickly as possible. I experienced life in a whole new way that week, and I am so glad that I did. Teaching in the schools was incredible, as previously stated, and I want to do that again so badly. But really, while the competition is stiff for what moments are my favorite memories, there is absolutely no contest as far as my very favorite moment is concerned.

To properly set the moment up, however, I'll need to give you a little background. The night before we left for Seoul, October 2, Mark and I went to a Jars of Clay/Switchfoot/Third Day concert. After we got back home that night, I opened up my Bible to Isaiah like I had been doing for the 51 nights previously. I asked God to show me something that I could cling to on this trip, which I anticipated would be great, but I was still afraid of. He did not let me down. I got to verse 7 of the chapter I was reading, 52, where God says "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." I was so excited to read this verse because it is God's way of saying that he is God of us all.

Fast forward now to Friday, October 10. I am standing in the 1988 Olympic gymnastics stadium in Seoul, attending the Passion World Tour. I am surrounded by thousands of Koreans singing "How Great is Our God" with Chris Tomlin in Korean. Then it hit me. God is God of us all. What had previously been a powerful verse that I understood just became a powerful verse that I was living. How incredible. I was in that state where I just stood back and took it all in. The best part of it all is that the feeling of how we all are God's will never get less intense for me. After that moment, I truly understand that all nations are equally God's. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from; God unites us all.

There were so many amazing things that happened at Passion, so many times of prayer where the volume of prayers going up to God was nearly deafening, times when Koreans prayed for the people of Tokyo, that I just can't get over. I will never be the same after this trip. I challenge you to find something that will leave you changed forever. Trust me. It's worth it.

Seoul '08 Photos

So Seoul

Let me just start this post by saying that I have never experienced anything quite like Seoul before. This place is phenomenal. There are neon signs everywhere you look, advertising coffee shops and banks, as well as any number of other things. There is hardly a blank surface in sight; every building it seems has an unlimited array of signs advertising this or that in Korean, which adds to the amazing rainbow of lights every night.

The people here have been nothing but kind and generous, giving us gifts, providing food and offering us their warmest wishes. From the schools we have taught at to the churches we have attended, we have been received like royalty.

The traffic here is never-ending, with cars weaving in and out, pedestrians jumping in front of buses and motorcycles riding on the sidewalks. There are people everywhere, walking around with their purchases, on their way to work, or just taking a break on the sidewalk. It is quite evident that we are in a city of ten million.

The market places that we have visited have been bustling with crowds, the boutiques and street vendors all trying their best to give such a good deal that you can't refuse. I can't adequately describe the colors, sights and sounds that fill them. The money is thankfully different sizes and colors based on the denomination, so knowing that 5,000 won is the orange one makes paying in a currency that we aren't used to very easy.

When we visit the churches, it is so clear that these people have such a heart for God. They are so authentic in their worship that we can really feel the Holy Spirit at work, regardless of the language barrier.

Teaching in the schools has been a huge blessing. This kids are all so eager to learn, or at least experience hanging out with some crazy Americans! It has been my favorite part of the trip, and every time I've taught, I've fallen more in love with them.

We still have three days left in our trip, and I can't wait to experience what they have to offer!