Top 5 for the week of September 29th

I am continuing in the pattern of last week and not writing my usual top 5 favorite "things" for the week. Rather, this week, I am going to write My Top 5 Things I Wonder:

1. Heaven: I wonder what Heaven will be like?....the descriptions in the Bible say that it is "...flowing with milk and honey..." (Exodus 3:8) and "the streets are of pure gold..." (Revelation 21:21), but is it literal? We analyze so many things in the Bible, saying it's just symbolism or it doesn't mean that literally. So I wonder, are those descriptions of Heaven literal? I think my heaven would be flowing with sweets and ice cream and the streets would be jeweled with rubies, diamonds, and gold! My heaven would be a dance floor, an amusement park, a shopping mall, a party! It would be fun and exciting and we would all dance and sing and not judge one another. We would all be happy and healthy. There would be no sickness and everyone would be perfect. God's perfect. I wonder what heaven will be like?

2. My Future: I wonder what my future holds? A degree, a career, a family? Will I look the same as I do now? My future according to me would be that of contentment. I just want to be content in the place that I will be. Although I do want "things," like a family, a career, a beautiful home by the beach....I want my future to be bright. I want to have my mind not set on worldly desires but the desires God has for me. I want to be content in his plan. And instead of saying, "I wonder what my future holds?" I want to say, "I wonder what God has in store for me in the future?"

3. How I'm Viewed: What do people see when they look at me? Do they see beauty? God? Happiness? Sadness? Joy? What do they see? I would want them to see God, first off. I want them to see Christ through me, although I still struggle with what that means. I want people to see happiness and understand and that they can trust in me. I want them to see joy in me. I wonder what people see in me?

4. Death: I wonder how and when I'll die? If I could choose to know when I will die, I would take it. I want to know how much time I have left. I want to know when it will happen. Why? I don't know. I guess so that I can cherish the time I have left. I take for granted "my time" here on earth because I don't think I'll die soon; but maybe if I knew, I would cherish it more. I don't know. But what if I found out I had 50 years left? I probably wouldn't cherish the first 49 years at all. If I found out I had 50 minutues left, what would I change about the way I live. I don't think anything. I just wonder when I'll die, I guess?

5. My beliefs: I wonder if I'm believing the right things? Is God real? Is there something out there that is bigger than me? Something I can't see? I wonder if I'm believing the things I do, to hide from reality; if I'm standing behind "my God" in order to not face the problems in front of me. I wonder is the things I'm believing in are a waste of time. I know they are not and that's where my faith comes in....but I still wonder...and I think it's ok to wonder. I wonder if "my God" is real and if He really does love me. I wonder if there is actually nothing out there and when I die, I die. Done. Nothing comes after life and the things here on earth are all we get. It seems sad if that were true, but what if it was? What if all I'm believing in is just a lie and everything I think is true, is false? I wonder if I'm believing the right things?

Ok, there you have it. The things I wonder about....

Hopefully, I'll have a regular post next week.

Once again and as always,

Peace, Love, and Finding 6 bucks in your pocket :D

-kristen.

Top 5 for the week of September 15th

This week I'm gonna do something a little different; instead of writing my Top 5 favorite "things" for the week, I'm gonna write my "Top 5 Things I Want to Do Before I Die!"

1. Have a family- This is probably at the top of most young women's list. We all just want to get married. Don't get me wrong, it's nice not being weighed down by another person and getting to do whatever I want; but we all want that special somone to show up eventually. :) I don't want to start a family within the next 5 years either! If I could have it my way.....I'd get married at like 28 and then see from there when I have kids and so forth. ha. This is at the top of my list because I love family, and having one of my own someday would be so cool!

2. Walk on Burning Coals- I know, I know...I can't see myself doing that either, BUT! I'd like to picture myself walking on burning coals someday because I think it symbolizes and represents strength and courage...at least for me it does :) And truthfully, who can say they've walked on burning coals before?? I think I know like one person....I'd like to be that "one person" for you :D

3. Write a Book- A children's book, a novel, a short story that's published, or even be part of writing a book. I just want to see my name on the front of a book.....

4. Go to Europe- I would love to explore Greece, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, and all the other European countries! I would love that to be my honeymoon but it doesn't have to be :) I'd like to at least once in my life, go to Europe, sit in front of the eiffel tower and have a hot cocoa in one hand and a crepe in the other :D ahh....bliss.

5. Change the World- I know this is hard to do in the 60+ years I have left, but I would at least like to start to change the world. "What change is that?" you may ask. "I don't know yet," I'd respond. I just know that I want to change the world. And that's, that! You may say, "What 19 doesn't want to change the world?!" And I'd respond by saying, "That may be true, but instead of asking questions....help me!" haha. Yes, we can!

Ok, next week is back to normal...just wanted to write a bucket list for this week :D

As always,

Peace. Love. and Captain Crunch Berries.

-krsiten.

Top 5 for the week of September 1st

1. Santa Cruz-- I recently moved to Santa Cruz for school and am loving the area. It's sunny, warm and beautiful! I can honestly see myself living here for the rest of my life! There is a great mix of Redwood forests and beachy environments. It's a great balance and there is so much to do! From the beach to camping, from shopping to making art! Its a great place to live and visit!

2. The beach-- I've literally been to the beach like five days this week and everyday this weekend! The weather was perfect and the water was a great temperature to swim in! The sand is silky soft and I can be out there all day!

3. Baseball-- It's a great sport to jsut sit and watch. Either on TV or at the stadium, I always enjoy watching it. I don't have a particular team that I cheer for, but I love all Bay Area teams! Take me out to the ball game!

4. Doodling-- Good News: I am increasing my drawing skills. Bad News: I don't listen to my professor. :/

5. Anything except Caf food-- Disgusting. That's really all I can say about cafeteria food. It's either over or under cooked; soggy or too hard; stale, old, greasy, chewy....all things food should not be. And to think I'm paying (well, my parents...) 5K for this nasty food....blahh!

You know the drill....

Peace. Love. and Sea Lions.

-kristen.

Top 5 for the week of August 7th

1. Home Videos-- A good friend and I were recently reminicing about our home videos and it got me thinking about how hilarious they truly are. They, seriously, are more funny than any other movie I've ever seen in theaters. The memories they hold are priceless and can be treasured for a life time. I can't imagine the heartbreak I'd go through if my family ever lost our home videos. I had a friend who was moving across country and their car was broken into and all of their home videos were stolen. How awful and painful! My family treasures our home videos and I can't wait to show my own children my childhood memories, saved on tape, later in life. :)

2. Sleeping Outside-- For the first time in my almost 2 decades of living, I slept outside, under the stars. It was incredible! The fresh air, the smell of dew in the wee hours of the morning, and getting to experience wildlife through the night was like nothing I'd ever experienced. When I woke up around 8am with the sun shining down on me, I rolled my head to the side and saw a little fawn standing barely 6 feet away from me. It was all wet from the swimming in the river behind me. I sat up to see it clearer and it scampered off further into the campground. Not even 2 minutes later, the mother of the fawn slowly walks by my sleeping bag and stops about 10 feet away from me. It looked around, probably looking for it's baby and then kept walking forward. You definitely don't see beauty like that everday and getting to experience that made me stand even firmer on the Rock that is my God! His beauty is shown to us everywhere, but getting to see it up close and personal while sleeping outside, was life changing!

3. Mafia-- An awesome group game that we played the heck out of while camping this week. A game of deception, lying, cheating and stone cold betrayal...now that's my kind of game!

4. My Refuge Family-- Refuge is the college youth group at my church and the connections and relationships I've made there are priceless. My family at Refuge means the world to me and I'm so thankful to have them in my life! Since meeting them, I feel I have grown leaps and bounds toward the Lord and I give all credit to my family at Refuge! Thank you guys so much for inspring me and encouraging me in the right direction! I love you guys so much :D

5. Risking My Life For The Fun Of It-- Why not, right? If it's my time to go, it's my time to go! I just feel like God wants us to enjoy life and take advantage of the things and opportunities he's given us; I understand within reason though. But I am going to enjoy life to the fullest and have fun doing it!

You know the drill:

Peace, Love and Shark Week!

-kristen.

Top 5 for the week of July 30th

1. Blogging-- I always forget to do it but when I do, I thoroughly enjoy it! Odd. Odd, indeed. I just love being able to write whatever I want and know in the back of my mind that millions and millions can read my stupid and random thoughts. Also in the back of my mind is the knowledge that no one does actually read my stupid, random thoughts. humm....

2. So You Think You Can Dance-- Just watched it for the first time ever tonight and found it quite entertaining. I believe I'm hooked. Thanks, Jhila!! *said in sarcastic voice* haha

3. Art-- I could spend hours and hours in art supply stores, craft stores, galleries, museums, and any place that displays and sells art. I just love seeing how each piece is so similar and different. 

I know my first house is gonna be decked out in art of all different kinds. :D

4. Thrift stores-- Again, I could spend hours in thrift stores, mingiling around the different boxes of crap looking for hidden treasures. My most recent purchases from a thrift store called The Abbott in Santa Cruz were: a pink, plaid shirt; 2 CD's (B-52's and Jet) and some tapes (Rolling Stones, Paula Abdul, Beach Boys and Bon Jovi)

5. Sleeping In-- Relaxation. Peace. Joy. And Laziness. All stem from sleeping in (but we'll just forget about the latter. ;)

And once again,

Peace, Love, and fruit snacks.

-kristen.

Top 5 for the week of July 13th

1. Tate & Reid-- I love my little cousins so much! I loved spending a lot of time with them these past couple of weeks! We played cars and dinosaurs and I finished teaching Tate how to swim! So cute! Reid says the funniest things and I love hearing his little voice! :D Hopefully, I'll get to see them before Christmas!!

2. Water bottles-- They are just so handy on a hot day and the feeling of swallowing ice cold water when it's 106 degrees outside is priceless!

3. Smoothies-- Any blended drink that contains any or all of the following is A.O.K. with me :) Pineapple, Mango, Strawberry, Banana, and Coconut!

4. Dorms-- I so can't wait to head back to a University and meet everyone in my hall! Ahh...sharing a room and community bathrooms...can't get any closer than that!

5. LA Ink-- Pretty sweet show! I love tattoos and anything that has to do with tattoos so I guess that is the show for me :D Pretty legit stuff.

And as always,

Peace, Love, and Smiles :)

-kristen.

Top 5 for the week of June 25th

1. Kids-- Pretty much from the ages 0-10! They say the funniest things and all have their own little personalities and likes and dislikes. It's so cool to watch them learn and experience new things! I work with kids at a gymnastics summer camp and it's so funny watching them burn off all their energy and by the end of the day they are pooped! But they're never tired and never want to take naps! ;) I can be having the worst day ever or be in a bad mood but when I watch a kid play or see a smile light up on a kid's face in makes my day 100x better!

2. Michael Jackson-- I have to say it and seriously how do you avoid it. Michael Jackson is and always will be a musical legend. He dazzled his fans with his hits and dance movies and has set so many trends (the moonwalk, the one glove, the mask). He will always be remembered and his songs will stand the test of time.

3. God-- These past couple of weeks I've been trying to see who God is and find Him in my life. It's one thing to know "facts" about God but to actually know Him is on a whole new level! Anyways, these past few weeks I've really been searching for Him in my day to day life. I wanted to see myself through other people's eyes. Do people see God in me? When someone meets me, would they know I'm a Christian? So, as I've been searching for God in my life, I realize that I've also become aware of things that I do and can fix about myself. I can "put" God in my life where I don't see Him. I never realized this before and it's kind of hard to explain. But I really feel like God has been more present in my life these past few weeks. I guess it's a good thing! :)

4. Tap dancing-- I've been taking tap dancing lessons since like March and it's so much fun! I love the sound the taps make on the wooden dance floors and the way it sounds when I walk around in my taps. :) I have a dance recital on Saturday that I'm dreading but know I'll do fine. ha.

5. Old friends-- The Girl Scout song, "Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver but the other's gold" is so true! It was so nice having old friends come to visit this week! I hadn't seen these best friends in a long, long time and it was so nice to just hang out again like old times. Getting pedis with Amanda was so fun and really special. You definitely realize the importance and meaningfulness of good friends when they go away. I wish we could see Amanda and Elena and her family more often, but it was a blast having them here this week!! I miss and love you guys!!

Ok, hopefully I can get some posts in these next couple weeks even though they are packed with acticities and trips!

And as always,

Peace, Love, and Otter Pops!

-kristen.