Oh, the Throes of Life as a Teenager

Journal entries from me as a 13 and 14-year-old

My view on dating. Application was tough.  

"I think dating is in fact very pointless because...most of the time dating is the forces of emotion, physical attraction, and infatuation. Aka. Satan."

Why did I do this?

"While we were bowling we decided to do the spits when we threw the bowling ball. I did it, but a little later, I sat down and I felt something cold on my butt. I split my pants!"

The Weather of Cedarville

Today? Rain. Tonight? Rain. Tomorrow? More Rain. 

Book Review: Velvet Elvis

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I think one of the reasons no one likes Rob Bell is because he isn't as "scientific" about stating his beliefs like most theologians. He doesn't use tons of qualifiers and his language is very emotional, which sometimes makes his words appear "loose" or "wishy washy." But, in context, I think it was easy to see that his main audience was different from that of most theologians and thus he wrote in this style. The only part I really didn't know what to do with was the portion at the end about heaven on earth. I really don't know anything about all that.

Here are some of the key themes I really liked throughout the book.

- Yokes: I never understood that verse about Jesus' yoke being easy. It was wonderful to understand the historical context behind what he was saying. Jesus' "yoke" was easy compared to the pharisees'. pg. 47
- Success: Success never makes life easier. We need to examine issues in our life, and allow God's healing. An essential part of this is learning to stop; something I need to work on. Pg. 11-113
- Killing Superpastor: "I am not defined by what I am not...I believed the not-working-hard-enough lie b/c I didn't function like a superpastor...So I had one choice - I had to kill superpastor." Made me laugh but it also brought some tears: I had to kill straight-A student. Pg. 115
- Implications for stumbling: we admit our sin, confess it, thank God for forgiveness, make amends with others, and move on. I can only imagine how much angst I would avoid if I consistently did this.


View all my reviews

Let Me Eat Cake!

All Things Tasty and Beautiful

Simple and Sweet

Pretty in Pink 

Best Two Colors on One Cake

Beautiful Photography

Source: bing.com via Theresa on Pinterest

Source: iciio.com via Theresa on Pinterest

Dr. Hutchison Quote of the Day!

"Witherirons; just a word everyone should know.  I like that word...that's really the only reason why I'm going over this."


"Given the infinite amount of time I don't have..."


"Little known fact: when something dies, it stops eating and breathing."


(We were talking about secondary protein structure and Dr. H said "pleated sheet" however, some people thought he said, "bleated sheep") 


"No, it is not a 'bleated sheep.' It does not go bahhhhh, and there is no manger here." 

http://catalogliving.net/post/13595745470/rocky-horror

Book Review: Following in the Footsteps of Christ

Following in the Footsteps of Christ: The Anabaptist Spirituality by C. Arnold Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very interesting, thought provoking book. This author uses language that is very different from modern day evangelicals, so it took so adjusting to realize he wasn't talking about weird post-modernism concepts when he used the word "mysticism" or "spirituality." Thankfully, he defines his terms pretty well. It showed me a very unique side of the Christian tradition and I appreciated the read.


View all my reviews

Get Ready to LAUGH!

Dr. Hutchison Advice Column of the Day!

Some valuable life lessons from Dr. Hutchison:

"If you ever feel tempted to dump fingernail polish remover on something very hot, don't do it." 


"If you ever decide to become an evil mastermind, don't attack a chemistry lab. We basically just sit around and dream of ways to use our chemicals to blow things up."


"It would be very wise of you to come to chemistry on Monday (the last day of class). Very wise...because you never know when you might have a pop quiz."

Book Review: Dietary Interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Dietary Interventions in Autism Spectrum Disorders: Why They Work When They Do, Why They Don't When They Don't by Kenneth J. Aitken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fabulous, fabulous book! Aitken does a great job focusing on the evidence at hand and not getting swept away in the emotional/political winds of the debate about diet and autism. He is very measured. My favorite book about autism I've ever read, by far.

Simple Pleasures

As the semester comes to a close, stress levels are high, sleep levels are low, and everyone's general demeanor can be most accurately described as "bleh." However, I've found that in these difficult days, you must hold onto little glimmers of happiness. These simple pleasures are what's keeping me going until the end of finals.

God's gift #1: Peanut-butter cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory
Benefactor: My (amazingly awesome) roommate

Can you say, yum?

Lord, Teach Me to Pray

My prayer life—to put it lightly—is fairly dismal sometimes. I've always seen prayer as some ambiguous religious ritual that was required of me, by God, so I could "hear from him." As a child, I found myself constantly confused that I never "heard God's voice" and when I told my mother that I did not think you could hear God, she would always seem concerned about my lack of supplicatory understanding. Surely, I was missing something.

Yet even then, no one could really explain to me what the model prayer life looked like. I heard the following quote and could immediately relate. Maybe you will feel the same way.

"When it comes to prayer...we all struggle in different ways. Years ago, I sat down to think through some of my frustrations with prayer and perhaps some of these will describe you. I've said things like:

• I wrestle with prayer
• I struggle with prayer
• My prayer life is weak
• All my prayers sound the same
• I know I should pray more
• I don't know how to pray
• I fall asleep when I pray (How many of us can say, 'yes, I fall asleep when I pray!')

Dr. Hutchison Quote of the Day!

(Talking about the accuracy of Carbon dating.)

"Plus or minus 1,000,000,000 years? Eh, what's that between friends?!"

(Referring to figuring out which chemical was the limiting reagent--essentially, the first chemical to run out) 

"Just imagine a bunch of furry little eyeless rodents all lined up at the starting line and some of them are labeled 'Au' while others are labeled 'H2O.' Now, start the reaction. The race of the moles is on!"

I've Got Their Love to Keep Me Warm - Brooke

"Look to the golden pillar...It holds up the House!

Everyone, meet Brooke (commonly known as anything ranging from Brookie to Brooklee). This beautiful girl is one of my friends who compliments me by her opposite, but totally amazing personality.When she's "gone with the wind" I help bring her back down to earth.When I'm too overstrung, she helps me loosen up and laugh a little.

The story of how I met Brooke begins two summers ago at Maswterworks Festival, a month long music camp in Winona Lake Indiana. One overcast evening I was hurrying back from the dining hall, rather worried about the thunder and lightening already clearly visible/audible on the horizon. I walked past a small clearing with two metal benches and quaint gardens, noticing one of the girls from my orchestra--a french horn player--crying on one of the benches.

I've Got Their Love to Keep Me Warm - Nicole

As I reflect on this past year, I have come to realize the value of the many wonderful friendships I have. I may not be the most popular person on campus but the friends I do have are wonderfully close, and absolutely awesome! So, I'd like to take the time each day to re-tell the story of how I met one of my friends in my December series "I've Got Their Love to Keep Me Warm".  Please enjoy!

"Niiks" and "Leelee" 

This is Nicole--Niiks as she is known to me. I met her for the first time when we were put in the same chapel band: I play violin and she plays guitar and we both sing harmony only. (Seriously, we sing it so much sometimes we can't remember the melody). We soon found out we were in the same chemistry class and so we said hi to each other occasionally. However, what really brought us closer together was one lovely day when I had the stomach flu. (Just bear with me here!)

Dr. Hutchison Quote of the Day!

"Skunk scent is made up of ethers--I used these in my graduate research to run experiments.  I actually exhausted all the skunk scent on the market in the US. I couldn't buy anymore because no one had it, so my friend suggested I start a skunk farm."




"So how do we name an amine? We shall call it Fred!"