grab bag

a few things worth noting:

1. amanda and i have been very proud of the fact that our blog inspired at least four other blogs. however, i am sad to report that none of these blogs have had a new post in over a month. one of them hasn't had a new post in more than four months! apparently, not everyone has as much to say as the residents of smyth 114.

2. i'm still trying to get a job for next year. if you have any connections in greenville, holla at me. i can use all the help i can get. hoping to start working the first week of june.

3. only 8 more days until graduation, and i'm spending them at the beach with some of my best friends! i'm hoping to return at least three shades darker.

4. my new (and solo) blog will make it's debut on may 9, so look out for the web address in the near future.

end of the semester

a few special things about the end of second semester:

• study breaks in GDH!  every exam week, PC's student government hosts nightly "study breaks" in the dining hall for us to get some breakfast food, participate in a few food fights, and jam to our favorite tunes.  i will admit i successfully participated in a couple of food fights tonight, going so far as to flick a few grits and some eggs.  though i hear the fight is on, as of now, there is no sight of retribution.
• moving out...so sad to see smyth 114 totally broken down.  ash's dad came this afternoon and our beds are in different rooms now.  i can't imagine living differently from how we did this year.  ash's and my room was so special--we went so far as to put our desks in the closets.  makes me sad to leave such a sweet roommate with so many memories, but excited for a fresh summer and new year as a JUNIOR (whoop!!)
• after i complete my exams I'll be headed to the beach!  not just 1 beach but 2!  the fertile myrtle for the first few days then hilton head for the second few days.  who could want more?
• once again I'll be going to the LP this summer!  Last summer was very challenging for me so I am apprehensive to get pumped for this summer, but I really am learning to trust God...that He can redeem my uneasy feelings and show me more of Himself for the 8 weeks I'm spending in Myrtle Beach this year.  I am praying that God will show me more rest, treasure, and joy in the Gospel this summer!
• thanks for being such faithful readers!  ash is moving out in 2 days :( but be on the lookout for links to our new blogs :).

Peace and Love!

Beauty

I can't begin to express the joy I feel when I pass bright pink and purple magnolia bushes on my way to Neville during the spring.  These flowers, somehow, lift an ungrateful, heavy spirit that accompanies me when my tired eyes can hardly stand to stay open for the last few classes of the semester.  I can't begin to express the joy I felt last Sunday, when after four stanzas of a beautiful, old hymn, the resounding sound of the organ stopped, and only the pure, worshipful chords of a congregation echoed throughout the church.  I can't begin to express the joy I feel daily from inexplicable, aesthetic gifts from a God who created beauty itself.

It's true; beauty, like all things, is created and defined by a perfect God whose mere words created the only world we know.  He not only heals and comforts our broken souls, but he does so with grace: a tender, sweet gift from which all human concept of beauty can never compare.

When God created the world in the first chapter of the Bible, He reflected on His creation and declared it good 6 times.  God's intentions for mankind's first pair was for the two to live forever in a blissful, beautiful garden.  And later, even when His created ones hurt him and His justness required for Him to punish them, even when generation after generation of Isrealites cursed the God who had delivered them from Egypt, He promised His grumbling people something better: a restoration of the same blissful, beautiful life initially enjoyed by Adam and Eve.

God manifested this beauty through Jesus Christ, a man who didn't just satisfy people's hunger or heal their disabled children, but gave them true life.  Yes, God declared, man had sinned.  Yes, God declared, because He is fair, they could not experience the same beauty from the garden without price.  But God's promise for restoration was so great that He did whatever He could for man to know Him again, even if it meant sacrificing a part of Himself.  And this perfect Christ, this promised Messiah, whose every action was the will of God, was scoffed by the very people He came to save.  He loved them anyway.  He died for them anyway.  That is a beauty I don't deserve to know.

There is a false beauty permeating the world.  Or at least girl world.  A beauty that claims that manufactured, made-over, underfed women are the closest glimpse of Eden we'll ever know.  A beauty that claims that our worth comes from a 4.0, athleticism, or the attention of men.  My friends, the beauty we are settling for is child's scribble instead of a Van Gough.  I would be lying if I said I sometimes didn't buy into this beauty myself.

But the grace of God changes people through Jesus.  "For the Lord comforts Zion.  He comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord." (Is 51.3).  We don't have to strive for beauty.  We don't have to give up meals to manipulate our bodies; we don't have to give up sleep to receive a 4.0; we don't have to give up respect to get a boyfriend.  The greatest and only sacrifice needed for our satisfaction comes from God.  And it doesn't require any strife.  It comes freely.

"Come to me," Jesus whispers.  "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden; and I will give you rest."  (Matt 11.28)

In this rest, He changes our souls.    He even changes us to reflect some of the very beauty He reflects through Christ.  He transforms our visions from worldly beauty toward heavenly beauty.  We wait to see the fullness of this beauty.  But our hope is not in vain.  

Why? Because our God is not an imaginary friend.  The 66 books in the bible aren't fairy tales.  They are real, because Christ is real.  Christ died for a reason: to ransom us from our sin.  He lives now, too, because He has overcome Death.  Every day, Jesus, would your beauty be real in my heart...would you let me celebrate your beauty, not the world's beauty...would I be more overwhelmed by the beauty of Christ.

final projects

just thought i'd let you guys know what stands between me and graduation:

- attending one day of class
- writing a journal entry
- performing a 5 minute scene from a streetcar named desire
- composing a 2-3 page informal paper
- watching a movie

and then my collegiate career will be over. just like that. i'll keep you updated on the completion of these HUGE (catch my sarcasm) projects.

my girl janyce

it's ironic that just the other day i posted about having nothing to post about. and this is the second funny story in like four days. gotta love it.

anyway, last night my friend amy and i hung out with her boyfriend, keaton, his brother, kendall, and another friend, derek. kendall was in town for the night, so we thought it would be fun to give him a taste of college life. we played cards for a couple of hours and then decided we needed some snacks. bi-lo closes at midnight, so we loaded up in the spaceship (keaton's transport van from the late 80s/early 90s) and rushed to get there before they closed. we arrived at approximately 11:55 (plenty of time, right?!?), but unfortunately (and potentially unlawfully), they had already locked the doors. however, since i had already set my mind on having ice cream, we decided to trek to the wonderful 24 hour walmart in laurens. after browsing the grocery section of walmart for 15-20 minutes, we settled on our purchases (sunchips and 2 quarts of ice cream) and headed to the checkout station. as we were approaching the checkout lanes, i said, "i wonder if my girl dee is working tonight. if not, i know my girl janyce will be here. we have to go to one of their lines." everyone kind of laughed, but i don't think they realized how serious i was. as we walked closer, however, i noticed that both dee and janyce were working. since dee's line was longer, we chose to checkout with janyce. kendall surprised us by offering to buy all the snacks, so after we dumped everything on the conveyor belt, i walked over to say hi to janyce. the following is the conversation that ensued:

me: hey! how are you tonight?
janyce: i'm pretty good. how are you?
me: great!
janyce: you are extra happy tonight.
me: of course i'm happy! i'm getting ice cream!
janyce: well, where's your reese's cups? something wrong?
me: oh, no. i just figured since someone else was paying, i'd go light and just get the ice cream.
janyce: oh, ok. i knew something had to be up. you always get ice cream and reese's cups.
me: haha. yeah, i know.
janyce: alright, now. you take care.
me: have a good night!
janyce: you too. see you soon.
me: bye!

as we exited the store, the rest of the group seemed shocked that janyce knew what i always purchase. my explanation? "i told you she was my girl." :)

chasing boys

last night, upon exiting the library at approximately 2 am, my semi-normal life of the past month left, and the crazy, unpredictable, ridiculous, you-won't-believe-the-stuff-that-happens-to-me life came running back.

near the door to the library, there is a hand sanitizer dispenser. for all of you who know my friend walt, you know that he has this really strange obsession with hand sanitizer. so, as walt, chris, natalie, and i are leaving to make a mcd's run, walt fills his palm with foamy, yucky hand sanitizer. (if you've never seen walt's palms... they're huge. so i'm talking a LOT of hand sanitizer.) i don't really think much of it due to his previously mentioned obsession. and then, just as we are walking out the door, he smashes the hand sanitizer all over my face!

naturally, i am not a fan of this decision and immediately commence to fighting him. i only get one good hit in before he takes off running. so what do i do? chase him, of course. let me pause the story for a moment to mention that i was wearing a dress and sandals. with that said, back to the chase. walt is running all over campus - in the grass, around trees, on the sidewalk, around benches - and i am running behind him as fast as i can go in my totally inappropriate attire for the situation. i catch him a few times just long enough to get a hit or two in before he escapes again. well, just as i am really starting to tire him out and pick up the pace, he decides to dash across the lawn. let me remind you that it was 2 am and very dark. so what happened next? i step in a hole and fall!

that's right. you read correctly: i stepped in a hole and fell. and this was not just any fall. it was an all out nose dive, a complete and total face plant. luckily, no one was close enough to actually see what happened. i'm thankful since my dress definitely flew up over my head. i have scratches and bruises on my stomach to prove it. obviously, i did not walk away unscathed. in addition to the stomach injuries, i cut both knees, i have scratches all up and down my legs, both my palms are scratched, and i have cuts on a few of my fingers. i had to go inside, clean up, bandage my wounds, and change clothes before we could go to mcd's. honestly though, the worst part was how stupid i felt. a fall like that will really put one's pride in check.

i think walt felt bad about it, but i don't blame him. i should have remembered mom's advice from my elementary school days: chasing boys always causes trouble. i guess i still haven't learned my lesson. :)

ah!

so i realized today that amanda and i haven't posted in 10 days! i apologize for our inadvertent absence. i guess our lives have normalized because apparently we no longer have funny or interesting stories to share with you, our faithful readers. :(

in other news, graduation is drawing nearer. this ever-impending approach is bittersweet for me as it leads to the end of...

1. life in the smyth lane - as of may 8, amanda and i will no longer be sharing a blog. sad because we haven't received our book deal yet; happy because now you, blogfans, will have two blogs to read instead of just one!
2. smyth 114 - well, i guess the actual room will still exist, but the blissful roommate union of amanda and me will not. sad because i'll miss my sweet, silly, precious roommate; happy because i won't be living in a dorm anymore!
3. my college career - the last four years at pc have definitely been a roller coaster, and my ride ends soon. sad because i won't be able to have fridays free anymore or make 2 am trips to waffle house just because i feel like it; happy because pc's faculty will no longer have to deal with the slackest quattlebaum ever. (well, except for the girl who dropped out after her freshman year to go to cosmetology school.)
4. financial dependence - i will soon become responsible for all bills, payments, etc and relieve my parents of the burden they've been bearing for the last 21 years. sad because duh! i'll be financially independent; happy because... uh... i'll become more responsible?!?!

stay tuned for more info about my transition into the real world. it's gonna be one heck of a ride. you won't want to miss out. i feel like the funny stories are coming back to me soon. :)

another update

I recently failed to mention that today I also went #1 in a men's bathroom (scary I know, but no boys were there...PTL) AND my good friend Lauren Snyder and I will be living in a handicapped room next year=biggest room in Grotnes.  As Ashton has mentioned, Life in the Smyth Lane may very soon become a Dead End thanks to our moving out of Smyth 114 in less than a month.  Suggestions for future blog titles appreciated (although all parties acknowledge any future blog's inevitable failure to surpass our present one).

Peace!