concerts, comfort, & college

yes, what do these 3 C's have to do with one another? let me tell you as it is more than just my love for literary alliteration. These are just a few things in my stream of consciousness this evening...
concerts
tonight entailed a last minute quick decision (at 7:45 when it started at 8:00 in Grand Rapids) to change out of the pjs and into a hoodie and my puffy vest. And I am so glad we did because we headed to Calvin to check out Eric Peters who did not disappoint. Head to his site to hear him and if you only listen to one song, I would encourage "save something for grace". My favorite lyrics of the evening perhaps:

save something for grace
she’s raising the sky
save something for faith
there’s hope still in her eyes
save something for grace

we live as though mercy were frail
and forgiveness merely a tale

I also loved the song "chrome" from his newest release that speaks the story of a bicycle left behind in a commuter lot that was without it's wheels and rusted out and how it longed to be made chrome again. redemption.

comfort
I am realizing more and more again how much more I feel like me in flats than heels, in long sleeve tees than business suits. I love dressing up for work but when I am engaging in life and conversations over coffee, you find me at my happiest and at home in my ballet flats and my Chicago half-marathon tee with the hole in the arm. And no, Ryan, it is NOT time to throw that tee away.

college
This month marks 5 years since I left my time as a student at Taylor. I got a bit nostalgic in my own mind tonight sitting in the coffee shop at Calvin for the concert. Actually, more than that, the emotion if I truly seek to place it is grateful.

Now that I have been further out of college for more years than I was there, I still cannot believe how gracious God was with giving me the opportunities to encounter Him in the midst of what could have felt like religion, to experience true community with friends, to love on those freshman (probably one of the most impactful decisions I made on campus to spend junior year as a PA), and to share endless evenings over breadsticks at Handy Andy, in the D.C., and in the Student Union much like the one we were in tonight.

late night date night

last night was a gift. I can't remember the last time we were the 2 crazy kids pulling a late night mid-week and it was a celebration of living it up. Despite my ever present runny nose this week, it was glorious. Ryan pulled out the entertainment book (a mature piece of the crazy kids evening) to find out where we had buy one get one in GR and gave me 3 choices. I settled on what seemed the obvious, Old Chicago because I knew that pizza is always a happy default. I ended up ordering the Oriental Chicken:
Teriyaki chicken over spiced, chilled noodles, crisp greens, carrots and red bell peppers with our house Italian and sweet chili dressing, green onions, wonton strips and toasted sesame seeds. (as taken from the website menu). yum. He got a bacon cheeseburger and both parties were happy.

From there we froclicked aimlessly around the mall, stopping to debate if I am too short for the over the boot jean look:

these were the particular pair in consideration and in retrospect, I think part of me was just excited that they fit over my calf because that NEVER happens. I didn't get them. not sure if I will.


We also saw a late night movie @ the $3 Celebration Cinema @ Woodland. Which is amazing because we have stopped going to movies as often anymore, due to my redbox obsession but I do still love sitting in theater. We went to see the movie 500 Days of Summer which "is not a love story. It is a story of boy meets girl".

It features these 2

...and I loved Zoeey Deschanel's captivating beauty and Joseph Gordon Levitt's hipster style. Along with the chalk wall in his bedroom, which we spent a good few minutes whispering about in the theater.

It also rekindled my lost love for Regina Spektor with her enchanting voice and beautiful piano skills. All in all, the night was a 2 thumbs way up, a night to remember and a welcomed break in the constant push and pull of life.

weekend run down

that's right twitter style again. I know you are wondering why I don't just get an account and give you a play by play daily. In a moment of weakness I tried to do just that but since I closed my account over 6 months ago, I am locked out. Or maybe I lucked out because I fear I may struggle with boundaries there. Here it is, for nothing more than my own personal joy:

Friday night:
-@redbox and happy I reserved The Proposal online first
-forget the frozen pizza, hubby says we are going to pick up Wolfies and somehow Starbucks Java chip ended up coming home with us too.
-in bed by 10:30 and happy to be there!

Saturday:
-up by 7 to get a start on the day and do my Explore the Story reading on the treadmill at the local gym
-rushed to coffee with my girlfriends from @FBHS, why do I struggle to be on time so much?! Left there to run to Meijer & then back home before the couple's baby shower
-hubby took one for the team by eating jars of baby food while blindfolded; was on standby with a big bucket while he tasted peas, squash, ham & gravy. yikes
-jam session on the way to David Crowder Band and grabbed Quizno's on the drive. Not holding to the restaurant budget too well this weekend, but at least we used coupons!
-Got to the concert early to get good seats, only to find that they are assigned...and we were in the 3rd row! Decided that when the Lord returns, I want to be at a David Crowder show singing "You are my Joy" or something of the like.

Sunday:
-EARLY morning to set up breakfast for the high school session that Ryan taught this morning from 8:30-noon. Was so proud of his passion for who God is and the way he is loving on high schoolers.
-took a FULL out nap in my church clothes and then realized that I had dog hair all over my new black sweater dress...but it is from Meijer so I machine washed it this afternoon
-bummed around and watched the latest episode of GLEE on Hulu.
-ended the night with youth group, hanging out with 50 of our favorite high schoolers, including a leader's skit involving a sword, a cat, a vegan, a human table & a waiter.
- a late night walk around Zeeland with the hubs and our pup, realized 1/2 mile in that my boots were not the most practical option but earned me some fall fashion points.

in less than a week....we are going to see him:

Perhaps an unlikely looking worship leader. But aren't we all treasures in jars of clay? I don't know any other band that continually leads me to a place of worship and understanding my relationship with God in light of normal everyday life like David Crowder's music does. That being said, this is our third DCB show in the past year so I think we both kind of like him. alot.

I invite you to check out the band's website at the link above for a preview of their music if you haven't heard them before. Here is a snippet of the lyrics of my current favorite:

OH HOW HE LOVES US:

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

Pre-Chorus:
And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Chorus 1:
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves us,
Whoa! how He loves.

Verse 2:
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

currently obsessed with..

the phenomenon of the REDBOX


You mean, I can just drive up to Walgreen's door or casually stop by after finishing my grocery shopping at Meijer (already a good enough thing in itself) and pick up a movie? Without painfully pacing the aisles, debating a drama or a comedy in open air for all to observe while Ryan & I debate who picked last time...amazing!

I'm not sure how it began but I do know that we have realized that the new budget program with life as a full time student allows for different types of entertainment and that we can rent 20 redboxes for the movie & popcorn that we were going to see tonight. So happily, to the joyful little Redbox we went tonight for a date night in and all are happy because we can wear our pjs and eat fresh out of the oven oatmeal cookies in bed with our $1.06 movie.

Have you tried the box? :)