extravagant.

When you think "extravagant" what do you think of?

Gucci, Coach, Godiva, Porsche, Filet Mignon... the list could go on. I think of absurdly expensive things, completely-irrelevant-to-life types of things.

Here's an interesting thought: have you ever applied that word to God?

By definition, extravagant is spending more than is necessary, exceeding the bounds of reason, going beyond what is deserved.

How could you NOT apply that word to God?

The song, Your Love is Extravagant was playing through my head this evening. Seriously, I love those lyrics. I realized how true they are and how much they made me think of the Cross.

His love is extravagant; it is the most extravagant event to ever happen. No pricey purchase can top that one. Honestly, if we were going to confess the truth of it, there is no reason why Christ would have died on the cross. We were going right where we belonged: Hell, separation from God forever.
And yet, He did not leave us to our fate.

For God so loved the world THAT He gave His only begotten Son [an expression of His love!] that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16

The words "It is finished" on the cross meant just that: the sacrifice of Christ for us on the cross stands forever. If we choose to trust this and put our faith in Him, we will LIVE forever with Him. We admit that we are sinners in need of a savior.
We need something that is completely unreasonable because it's so undeserved.

And God extended that. To you and to me. It's more absurd than anything, if you think about it.

Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. I Peter 3:18

His love is extravagant.

if all the snowflakes were lemon drops and milkshakes...

It snowed today!
Not for long, and it didn't stick but it is certainly newsworthy.
Eleven months ago I saw my first snow.
This one isn't as exciting but it's so pretty and gentle, falling.
So funny to imagine what an entirely white winter will be like... first white Christmas!
(that I can remember - it did snow the year I was born)
...BUT...
I may or may not have had conflicting feelings when I saw that the low at home was 65 degrees.
Only for a moment.

October, in thirty seconds.

Pumpkin patch.

Carving.

Carson's pumpkin.

Lindsay's pumpkin.

Yellow leaves.
Red leaves.

but i'm thankful...

I miss
Warm nights camping at the beach

I am thankful for
Chilly nights with bright stars

I miss
Times after W class with my girls

I am thankful for
Fellowship over the phone, even from 3,000 miles away

I miss
Common Ground coffee/study dates with Brooke

I am thankful for
A friend who is pretty much the best unofficial long-distance wedding planner ever.

I miss
Harvest festival: candy shack and hayrides

I am thankful for
A true autumn: pumpkin patches and changing leaves

I miss
The place I grew up: Beaufort

I am thankful for
The place God has me now: Spokane

Fall things, now and then: Carson and I picking pumpkins at Green Bluff on Saturday;
Brooke and I (and THE hat) at Fall Festival a couple years ago

Something I've been Looking forward to...

Is THIS!

Yay!

the week in review.

In the past week I:

• Got a job - so happy! Thank you Lord!
  

• Saw myself the way God sees me for a moment (remind me to tell about it later!)

• Didn't get much sleep.

• Researched for/wrote a paper on Sheol.

• Experienced temperatures ranging from below twenty degrees to just above fifty. Tried to be okay with that.
  

• [Therefore] Located my cold-weather clothing.

• Went for a walk in the frigid weather this afternoon and greatly enjoyed the crisp air.
  

• Enjoyed a fire in a fireplace (and took a nap... ahh!).
  

• Finally went to the grocery store. Happy day!

• Opened God's word and saw Him move through it.
  

Life is good. And God continues to be more than faithful!

hello fall!

The month of October was REALLY ready to celebrate fall.

In other words, it's COLD here, y'all. And has been since the first of the month (It's 18 degrees tonight. Needless to say, I'm bundled up.)

October's my favorite month because of the leaves, the pumpkins and any other seasonal things so due to the cold making the leaves fall early, I decided to take a walk and take pictures of my them.

The walk was great and the colors didn't disappoint. Sunny, beautiful, and chilly. Hel-lo fall!

Notice that one tree's leaves are barely hanging on! That tree is what provoked me to go outside and enjoy those leaves while they're still there.

Philosophy, Pizza Rolls and Paper Chains: Pictures from the Past Month

(Does that count as alliteration?)

I really haven't been taking so many pictures lately. Pictures have been taken with me in them and of things I've been doing, but I don't have access to them. Still, I really enjoy sharing what I'm doing and what's going on so I'll share the ones on my computer and a few of the things I've been doing.

My mom and Carson's mom came out for a couple of days to go wedding dress shopping here in Spokane. It was great to see them, awesome that they got to meet, and terrific that we found a dress that all three of us love!
They stayed in my tiny apartment and got to go to chapel at school, visit Riverfront Park (they were excited to see the goat), little shops downtown, and more of Spokane than Mom and I were able to see when she helped me move up here. A very enjoyable (and also too short) time.

Mom and I at lunch, post dress purchase
Danita and I at Riverfront :)

We've already gotten a head start on the countdown to Christmas! Yes, it's only October but you can never be too early for Christmas! Ashley spent the better part of an hour painstakingly cutting out paper chains while I worked on a paper last night. We're excited to tear off a link each night. Only 80 days!

They have Christmas countdowns online! I took a picture of my screen to prove it :)

A study day at the Gonzaga library (it's only a few blocks from our campus and we have borrowing privileges there as Moody students)
Pizza Rolls and Princess Diaries II with Emily and Jamie after studying. My keys were accidentally left at the library so I spent the night at the girls' house :)
Went with Molly, Nick and Erica for their Cultural Anthropology assignment: breaking a cultural norm. Here they are sitting in an elevator in the mall. We also ordered ice cream and sat on the food court floor to eat it and walked around thinking of other culturally abnormal things to do. Not in that class but it was a fun assignment!
Philosophy homework! I'm really liking Philosophy but remembering all the theories and views and terms is a challenge. I think I'm getting it but I guess that will be proven as the semester progresses :)

That's it for pictures. I've been doing a lot of school stuff lately and a lot of things that just wouldn't make for exciting pictures. But I did go rock climbing for the first time a couple weeks ago (and lived to tell about it - it was fun!), met President Nyquist (who wanted us to call him "Paul" which was too odd and seemed disrespectful), started AWANA at my church for PCM... and that's all I can think of.

I'm hoping to add "looking at fall leaves" (when they finish changing) and "picking out pumpkins to carve" and "apple picking" to that list. I love fall. (Speaking of fall - it's been chilly! And not just for Southerners like me - it was 35 degrees this morning. Brrr! I'm excited about the hot chocolate and sweaters more than the winter that is to come but oh well).

Midterms start next week and I don't think I'm ready - this semester is flying past for real! Can we be in the middle of week seven???? Yes, I suppose we can.

So anyway, there's the glimpse (in 8 photos... haha) of life in the past month or so and a brief update.