Lightning

We were driving to NYC tonight and almost the entire way there, we drove through a massive storm. When the unnerving washout conditions cleared a bit, the hail stopped and the fog let up, we were able to spend the next few hours just soaking in the beauty of the most awe-inspiring lightning display I have ever seen. As we drove through the mountains, multi-colored bolts reached in all directions, stretching their fingers across the night sky toward each other or down to touch the tips of peaks, illuminating bodies of water and entire ranges we didn't know existed only moments before.

I've never seen something more magnificent.

The lightning made show of its strength and power against the darkness. Unexpected. Majestic. Being in the presence of such a force kind of makes your heart crazily giddy and reverently hushed all at the same time.

God is really skilled at crafting beautiful paradox inside Her creation. Encounters like the one my family shared in the car tonight fantastically reflect the paradox that exists within God's very nature and leaves us struck silent with overwhelming wonder at the mystery of it all.

Zion and Babylon -- Josh Garrels

Alphabet Pretzels

Because who doesn't like playing with their food?

Summer: The Fruit-Bearing Season

Alas, it is summer break and I could not have been more ready for its arrival.

T-minus 3 days until vacation in the Dells with Megan and Anna, which is going to be the best ever.

After that, I have two weeks before camp to spend
reading blissfully unrequired books,
going for long walks,
laying in the grass and
soaking in healing sunshine,
learning to play the harmonica,
reminiscing on my year,
wood-burning,
seeking out good swings,
playing music,
experimenting in the kitchen at 3am,
visiting neighbors and
having lunch dates with beautiful people I haven't spent time with in ages.
And in all of that, allowing God to refresh and rejuvenate my heart.

Summer is so good for my soul.

Crazy Josh

So today my friend Jenna and I went on an adventure into Philly. We were originally planning on walking around for the day, eating at Reading Terminal Market, maybe stopping by Rittenhouse Park and then going to see Julia Nunes play at the North Star Bar. Well, none of those things ended up happening. Reading Terminal Market was closed by the time we got there and we found out that the last train back to campus left 15 minutes before the show started. Suck.

But despite that, the day turned out super well. Instead of wandering around the streets of Philly, we found Jason, one of our homeless friends, in the Free Library. He was busily working on some project and told us they were serving lunch out in the park at 3 and that we should meet him there. We wandered the library for awhile, exploring rooms titled "literature," "art," "philosophy," and "music," and skipping over the ones with names like "business", "science," and "finance." After we had our fill, we headed over to the park and got some rice and bread with Jason and sat down in some shade. Jason is homeless by choice -- he's an incredibly educated man trying to bring a voice to the people he chooses to live amongst. And dang... can that man talk! He went on for hours. I'm pretty sure we sat there for two hours listening to him talk about the brilliance of John Quincy Adams and starting revolutions. He's working on this court case right now that's focused on advocating for the poor. Half of the things he said flew over our heads as we tried to grasp it all and take in his knowledge. And most people just pass this man by, judging his brain and his heart by the big, worn backpack he carries around.

After we were done hanging out with Jason, we met up with a friend from Mission Year that was in town from Seattle. Even though we had to head back to the train station a lot earlier than expected, it was good to catch up with her.

We happened to land on the same train home as two other Eastern students and while we were talking to them, this kid walked up to us and asked if he could draw us. Embracing all awkwardness, we agreed. He told us he did this often and really enjoyed meeting people this way. Over the course of 5 minutes of conversation, he drew me. As he was getting off the train, he introduced himself as "Crazy Josh". Strangers are the bomb.

Sidenote: Jenna and I were wished a happy Mother's Day 3 times today. I haven't quite decided how I feel about that yet. =P

Mustard

Poupon mustard. Seriously? Whoever made that name up cannot have taken themselves seriously. I was in Camden tonight at a theater practice with Stevie and as I sat there listening to some actors do their scene, one of them said it and I practically morphed into a ten year old boy.

Contentment

There are few things better than finding a quiet grassy place in which to lay and doze off under the warm blanket of the sun.

Disgusting

So I successfully completed a 13 page paper this weekend. During that process, not only did I latch onto facebook as my main mode of gaining social interaction the whole weekend, but when I finally finished and got to sleep last night, I had two separate dreams about things going wrong with my paper. Both having to do with incorrect ASA citation formatting.

Summer needs to get here quick.