How's this?

1. I like the weather today because it reminds me of spring. :)
2. I encountered several strange names at school yesterday: Aubrey (boy), Acquanetta (girl), Bronika (girl)
3. At school yesterday, I met two sisters who have the same last name as me!  They were so excited! They usually only meet people with the last name Myers; they had never met an unrelated Byers before.
4. Amos and I had a misadventure yesterday, but it was still fun and we got to hang out for a long time! :)
5. I got six books from the library today, and five of them are on the Middle East!  The sixth one is about cool things to see and do in L.A.
6. I hope candy corn goes on sale on Monday.
7. California elections are on Tuesday!  I'm going to get my little "I voted" sticker. :)
8. One of my IBEX professors, Bill Schlegel, is coming to California next week!  He'll be speaking in chapel on Monday and Wednesday and conducting a seminar on Tuesday.  Bill is the professor who gave me the nickname Ayelet. :)
9. I have at least two days of subbing next month and hopefully more.
10. Amos is moving this weekend!  This is good for many reasons. :)
11. I just remembered I have a mission meeting to go to tomorrow.

Owl City

One of my favorite musical artists is Owl City.  Owl City is one person, Adam Young, who started making music in his basement and still does, actually, instead of working in a regular studio.  He also happens to be a Christian and a pretty great blogger at times.  Here's one example of his funny style, describing a trip to Office Depot: 

‎"I was trouncing around the parking lot like a space worm..."

Haha! I found that quote last night, and it still makes me smile!  What is a space worm? (I've since found the answer, and it has something to do with Star Wars.)  Why do space worms trounce? Haha!
You can check out the Owl City blog here.
And you can read a good post about "enjoying the journey" here.
And you can listen to one of his songs included in a recent movie soundtrack here.

Reminder

I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
They looked to Him, and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.

The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.

~Psalm 34:4-8, 15, 17-18, 22

Trust in the LORD, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Delight yourself also in the LORD,

And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him.

But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;

He is their strength in the time of trouble.

~Psalm 37:3-5, 7a, 39

Changes

It's crazy how people change.
Looking through Facebook, I see some people I used to know and I think, "How did you get to the place you are today?"
I know some of their stories...or pieces of their stories.
But how did these people get there?  What terrible experiences have they endured that turned them inward, made them bitter, cause them to them lash out at others, made them lose hope in the future?  How did they come to accept lifestyles they once vehemently denounced?

I've realized recently that it doesn't matter how much wisdom (hopefully wisdom) I give to a friend, only God can change them.
Pray for your friends and family.
It's hard for me to do that, but it's essential.
Pray God will bring them or bring them back in whatever way He sees fit.
Pray He will give them hope.
And pray He will give them courage to change.

NorCal thus far...

Story Number One.

When I wear one of my Israeli t-shirts or my Ayelet necklace, I frequently get comments from strangers.  Checking in at the Southwest counter in L.A. on Thursday night, one of the attendants started talking to me very excitedly.  "Oh, were you in the Israeli Navy?  What's your Jewish name?  Mine is Rachel.  I'm named after a dead relative because you can't be named after a live one.  When do we get our Jewish names?  At our Bas Mitzvah? I can't remember now!  Did you like it?  I don't care what religion you are, there is just something special about Jerusalem, with the four gates.  The Dome of the Rock...where Jesus walked...symbolism...four major religions [where did she get the fourth religion?]...loved it...special place..."

As I was struggling under her deluge of words and enthusiasm, I did manage to bob to the surface and tell her that I had studied in Israel, I was in fact a Christian, I got my nickname from my professor, etc.  I took my boarding pass from the other attendant and headed down the very small terminal to my gate...after I tried to go the wrong way. :P

Story Number Two.

On Friday the little kids and I went to Lincoln to visit Audra and Ethan.  Brenda decided to comment on the fact that I kept driving, so she couldn't write what she wanted to.  I told her that I could drop her off on the sidewalk and she would have a lot of time to draw!  Luke said he would be dropped off, too.

Luke - "If anyone would come up and touch you, I'd say [menacing tone] 'watch out for the big dog.'" (You know where this is going...)

Brenda - "And a big dog comes out and attacks him..."
Luke - "No, the big dog is me!  Ruff ruff ruff!  I'd jump on him and throw him against the car!!"

Brenda - "You'd try to..."
Jennica - [insert comment on being nice to Luke]

Luke - "No, I would.  I have skills."

Quirks

In analyzing Amos' and my relationship, I think it's good to get the opinion of my friends who know both of us pretty well.  It's easy for an outside person to encourage a relationship when that outsider is caught up in the "You have a boyfriend or girlfriend!  That's so awesome!" mentality. Thus it's important to see if the two people actually get along with each other and make a good team.  Turning to a close friend who wants your best and will give you an honest opinion can give you good insight into your relationship.  Anyway, I decided to talk to a few of my friends about it.
I asked Danielle why she thinks Amos and I go well together, and she gave some pretty good insight that was encouraging. (We both have strong personalities, but I do listen to and respect Amos; he calms me down and I prod him along; etc.)
I asked Kat why she thinks Amos and I go well together, and the first thing she said, while interlacing her fingers for emphasis, was,
"Your quirkies fit!"
Haha!  Too true, Kat.  Too true.

"New updates are now available"

Well, it's a lazy Sunday afternoon here.  This morning Kat and I met Amos at church, then we all came back to my apartment, talked for a while, and had smoothies.  Kat headed off to hang out with Jess, and Amos and I had lunch.  Amos went home for a nap (he's working an overnight shift tonight), and the Michelles and I watched a movie and took naps on our couches. :)  The Michelles are still sleeping, but I'm writing a blog post and listening to some Michael Buble' through my headphones.  I've found that I like listening to music through my headphones sometimes; the sound is fuller than when I just play music from my computer speakers.  Maybe I should borrow Amos' really nice, Sony headphones sometime... ;)  I also just realized that if I use my headphones, I can listen to a song as many times as I want to without driving my roommates crazy! (Hmmmmm, I think this is the twelfth time I've listened to this song?  Or maybe the thirteenth?)
The picture above is from a few nights ago.  It's been hot here in SoCal, but we had huge, beautiful white clouds for about a week.  In the last few days we've also had random showers and thunderstorms.  Unfortunately I missed the thunderstorms; they happened around 3:00 in the morning, so maybe it's good I missed them!  I loved the clouds, though.
I'm finished with my consistent subbing now.  My last day of testing was on Thursday, and then I had a regular sub job on Friday.  I talked to a long-term substitute teacher on Friday and got some good ideas for how to get more sub jobs and/or a long-term sub job, so I have to implement those ideas now!  I'm so thankful that I got to do CELDT testing for a month!  Out of the last twenty-fours days I was available to sub either as a CELDT tester or as a regular sub, I actually worked twenty-one!!!  I also just finished teaching a three-hour SAT class on Saturdays.  I hope my students do well next Saturday when they take the test.  Wow, I have been busy!  Please pray that I'll continue to get work in the coming months.  Right now the only fersure (like my new word?!) job I have is two hours of tutoring per week.  However, I am getting paid in a week for my sub jobs and then in two weeks for my previous tutoring.
In other news, I'm headed home on Thursday to get a haircut and to watch the little kids for a few days.  Mom and Dad need a break and are paying for my plane ticket home for the weekend.  I'm glad I get to fly up because I'd much rather spend an hour in a plane than six hours in a car!  Yes, I will be driving a minivan, making dinner, hanging out with my cute brothers and sisters, recording hilarious quotes, making sure everyone gets to church on time, and cleaning for a few days.  We'll see how that goes.
While I'm gone, Amos is going on a mission trip to Mexico!  A team from our church is headed south of the border to build a house for a poor family.  The house was constructed in pieces yesterday and will be carted down and assembled by a crew from our church.  Amos is one of three or four guys going, so hopefully there are some burly women going, too!
Anyway, that's just a little bit of what has been going on down here.
Life is hard at times, but God is good.

Update: The music sounds REALLY good in Amos' headphones. :)