It, of course, was not just raining in one spot. But that's what Juliana and I were thinking before we saw the sprinkler..... Hahaha. What a fail :P
Today was lovely! (Minus the awful dream that woke me up this morning, but that's beside the point.) Jennifer brought me Chick-fil-a breakfast again(!), which was a much appreciated and totally unexpected surprise. The two of us took a trip to Hobby Lobby, where I got the supplies I need to hang my pictures on the wall at school (pictures will be posted later once it's hanging in my dorm room)! I also got supplies for another hang-on-the-wall idea, and here is the result!
Yep! Letters for Brianna and I :) She didn't know I was making them, and she said she loved them; thus I am excited to hang them up :) Fast forward a few hours, and Jenn and I went to Casa Grande for dinner! The food was delicious as always, AND I got them to sing Happy Birthday to her (without her even noticing that I told them)! She was SO embarrassed, but she definitely wasn't complaining about the free fried ice cream we got to split! (Shoot, I wasn't either. Haha!)
Juliana and I decided to go on a spontaneous Stizz date, and we decided that Heather needed to come as well! While we waited for Heather to complete her dinner, Jules and I went to the park. We played on the playground, took pictures, recorded a video, and looked for shapes in the clouds :)
I loved doing that :) And I loved that we could both look at the same cloud and see two completely different things-- for example, a turtle and a rabbit. Tis amazing how the imagination works!
Starbucks with Heather was such a lovely time :) The three of us sat outside and just talked for two hours! What about? Pretty much anything and everything! (Okay, I realize talking about "everything" isn't exactly possible, but you know the expression. Haha.) I love those two SO much! They are seriously two of my favorite people on the planet!
I, along with about ten other interns, attended the GLS both today and yesterday. The days were long, but overall it was a pretty good conference, filled with some pretty inspirational speakers. I won't lie to you, I feel asleep during one of them, but the rest were at least fairly engaging. I won't go into a huge shpeel, but here are a few people I found truly inspiring/intriguing.
Mama Maggie, also known as the "Mother Theresa of Cairo," is such a humble and incredible woman. She literally kissed the floor of the stage so that it may be blessed by God. When she started her speech, she was looking straight up towards Heaven with tear-filled eyes. Only seeing her speak would ever truly do her justice, but my guess is that she is the closest thing this world has to an angel in human form. She started the organization Stephen's Children, where she ministers and aids over 25,000 families in the garbage slums of Cairo. Truly, she is a saint.
Cory Booker is the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, and he has made it his mission to reduce the crime rate in that city. What really struck me about him was his determination to do just that, and he really cares about the safety and security of the people he represents. Not only that, but he holds your attention!
I really want to see Street Fight, the documentary that follows his mayoral election! I think it would be really interesting.
Michelle Rhee used to be the chancellor of the D.C. public school system, and despite her lack of expertise, she had a genuine heart for kids. She made extremely hard and controversial decisions so that, even though she had adults screaming insults to her face, children could get the quality education they needed and deserved--something that had been very much lacking. I also loved that, in response to the last interview question at the summit, she admitted that she is not yet able to call herself a Christian. She confessed that she is so logical in her thinking that it is making it difficult for her to accept the supernatural nature of God and to depend on Him despite not being able to physically see and touch Him. However, she said her and her husband are going through the Experiencing God workbook together every day, so I pray that she will soon be able to give her life to God! She seems like an amazing woman!
I had to officially say goodbye to Kathryn tonight. It's so sad when some one you love so much has to leave for a large amount of time :( Especially after a summer as crazy and wonderful as this one!
^This actually does make me laugh :) Haha!
I love you, Kathryn! You going to do wonderfully in LCF, Bonner, and school in general; never fret :) I cannot wait until retreat so that we can be reunited! It will come sooner than we know it :)
Oh yes, we made it to VA Beach by 4am :) We splashed and laid around until the sunrise, which was absolutely gorgeous! Some may have viewed this endeavor as one that is utterly insane, but what better time to live life than the present? It was just so freeing! Thank you, Soul Surfer, for inspiring this wonderful adventure :)
The four of us got back to Kathryn's around 9, and I was able to get about an hour nap in before my lunch date with Miranda. I had such a lovely time with her! Talking to her is seriously just like talking to a friend in my core group, and we talked in Panera for three whole hours! It flew by, for real :) I love spending time with my youth loves! They are just so great!
The intern dinner was tonight, and it was pretty chill. We all got together at this quaint Italian restaurant, and they had delectable ravioli! Yumm! Our departure led us straight to youth group, where it was Stephen's last night. It was certainly emotional, filled with sad goodbyes and touching reflections on our time together. There was fellowship and picture taking after his final sermon (which I thought was very good), but none of it really sank in until we watched him drive away from the Chick-fil-a parking lot. I fought the urge to leak, because others were trying desperately to abstain from tears. It was also sad for me to go through tonight knowing that it was Kathryn's last Seek of the summer. I just feel like she's my fraternal twin/"partner in crime" in all of this, and these next two weeks without her are going to be so bizarre. I'm going to miss my Kathryn!!! But it will be okay, because we're both going on retreat :) **Insert sigh of relief here.**
Since I didn't post last night... Wondering what I did yesterday prior to the beach trip?
Internship until 4.
Boba date with Kathryn.
It was her first time trying it, and she loved it!
Jenn woke me up at 8:30 with Chick-fil-a breakfast in hand. It was a super sweet gesture, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.... right before going back to sleep. Haha.
I spent a chunk of time today preparing for Bible study (since I was going to lead it), but we only had three kids show up, so we ended up just taking the kids home. Oh well, there's always next week!
Nikki and I had a date at Cap Ale tonight, and I'm so glad we did. It had been a while since we had gotten together, and I really missed my Nikki time. I love her :) She's someone who I feel like I can talk to about anything, and that means the world to me. She's greaaaat, duh ;)
As for the later part of my night, Elsbeth and I watched Teen Wolf! That show is so intense. I love it! I just NEED to know what happens next! I do NOT want to wait a whole week! Sghsdjgheksjgh! Sigh, it'll be alright. Brenna watched along with us :) The two of them make me oh so very happy!
My verses are almost memorized, yet I've neglected my books. Woops. That's rough....
".... you're the straw to my berry." :) Juliana shared that song with me quite some time ago, and I really do just love it, because it pretty much describes how I feel about my closest friends (minus the lyrics that mention marriage and whatnot, haha). The morning church fellowship, two-hour lunch dates, getting rained on while sitting on the outside patio, dance video games that no one is ever really good at, watching movies that are less than stellar, and just hanging out with good company and conversation :) I love all of it, every teeny tiny piece. Leave all of this behind to go back to school??? I know that I have to, but I sure am going to be missing my apples and straws!
"...that led me straight to youuuuu!" (Now please just imagine me and this little love dancing/signing to that song:
Haha. This afternoon was truly splendid! Juliana and I enjoyed lunch at Panera, which was followed by a trip to the park (where we got rained on), and some boba! (And we honestly didn't plan it, but we were kind of matching.... Haha!)
She is so precious to me! I'm so glad I got to spend my afternoon with her :) She's going to be one of the hardest people to say goodbye to when I have to go back to school. I told her that I wanted to pack her in my suitcase, and she said she was willing! Haha. That could work, right? ;)
After dropping Jules off back at her casa, I got to do a little shopping with Heather and Mama Tobz :) I was so happy to see my Heavs! She was gone for a whole week! But yes, we found sound some pretty lovely deals in Urban. I wasn't able to stay but for so long, though, because Jenn needed to go get some field hockey gear. Nonetheless, I enjoyed myself :)
Jenn and I made a run by Target to get some school essentials for me, so I feel a little more prepared for that. We made a gas/dinner stop at Wawa before rushing home again. You see, I had to pick up Chandler so that we could make it to the Byrd in time for the movie. Well, let me tell you, everybody and their cousin was at that theater tonight! The line to get in there was literally about three blocks long. In-sanity! It was okay though, because the two of us, Kathryn, Elsbeth, and Zach were all able to get tickets/seats. Doing nothing after the movie? Not an option. So naturally, we ended up at Cookout along with Nathan, Brad, and their friend Emily. It was chill :)
I'm Stephanie. I love everyone, and everyday I am amazed by the blessings God has bestowed upon me. I have an amazing family of friends that I share my life experiences with, and I have a crazy culmination of thoughts that clutter my cranium. I have passions and dreams, opinions and questions. I blog to share these things with others, and for my own personal relief at times. My hope is that someone, somewhere, is interested enough to read about it. If not, that's okay too :) I just enjoy the opportunity to set my thoughts free!
