Lights, Graveyards, and Spooks

It is now my honor to fill you in on last Friday... Friday the Thirteenth.... woooooOOoooOOOOO...

Katherine, Meghan, Rebekah, David, and I hopped in Katherine's car and headed out to Anson. Our goal was to freak ourselves out with the Anson lights (which are definitely not just cars on some distant highway... surely not...). Okay. So, we get to Anson and follow directions we were given, but can't seem to find the graveyard or the dirt road that is supposed to lead us to the place where we can see the lights. We spent about an hour driving back and forth on the road looking for this measley little road, and even with directions from Katherine's mom and a cashier (we stopped by Allsups and Meghan went in and told the clerk she was a genealogist looking for her family's records and needed directions to the cemetery... well, she was prepared to use that story, anyway, even if it didn't really happen like that...). Finally, we turned down the right road... and ended up not seeing any real exciting lights... but we did get herded by a couple of cars (that's what it feels like when the dirt roads are tiny and one-way). That was frightening. The best part is yet to come. We drove back to the cemetery and drove slowly through it. Some of the tombstones were huge, creepy pillars, something I'd never seen in a graveyard before. The creepiest part, though, were the reflections of the headlights in the shiny headstones... they looked like candles were being lit and extinguished. After a couple minutes, we stopped the car in the middle and David and Meghan got out. Katherine, Rebekah, and I stayed squealing in the car, begging Katherine, who was curled in a ball, to lock the doors. She didn't, and I nearly pulled Rebekah's arm off when Meghan opened the driver's side door. THEN David jumped into my window and was just plain mean. Serves them right that birds dived out of the trees at them... heh...

Memorable Quotes:

"Five - oh, you're too dumb for me."

- Katherine

"Okay, everybody, as I turn... do you see tombstones?"

- Katherine

"Delicious, Dynamite, DA BOMB."

- Me, Anna, Rebekah (respectively)

Plane to Hawaii?

Many people have heard of my strange dreams. I thought I'd share a relatively tame one that I had while we were still in Oxford.

We were here in Oxford but some of the people were from the fall semester, and some were from the summer program. One of our group trips was to Hawaii for a week and the planes outside our houses were getting ready to leave. I hadn’t known about the trip and was rushing to get out to the plane in time. I ran out there and was told to get in one of the planes. I squeezed myself into the one available seat, which faced the wall of the plane. It was so tight that my knees would hit the wall and I had to sit sideways with my legs stretched across Jennifer Lewis.

All of a sudden I realized that I had no bag, because I hadn’t known we were about to fly to Hawaii. I had no clothes and I hadn’t even brought my wallet. So, the planes made a short stop at my house in Abilene. I was in my backyard where I said hi to my dog. I then went inside to find clothes. Amara was at school, but Mom and I figured that she would be okay if I borrowed some of her clothes because all of mine were in England. Mom and I decided that we would go to WalMart and buy a bunch of camis – because those go with everything, I said. I was looking in our closet for clothes, but it was mostly full of toys. There were miniature Barbie dolls everywhere, handcuffed to things in my closet.

I went back outside with a box that contained a slice of pizza, some sort of animal and a fly. I shewed the fly away and ate the pizza. The carport and patio in my backyard were covered in water. I realized on closer inspection that it was a deep pool with orcas swimming in it.

And there you have it, one of the famous Rebekah Childers' dreams. Sometimes they are actually a lot stranger even than that.

Quote for the day:
"That's whey they're called daggers. Otherwise they would just be 'aggers'."

I'm On My Knees

I've heard some disappointment concerning our lack of updates, so I'll go ahead and post something. Oh, by the way, thanks, T'auna, for being a loyal reader. :)

Rebekah and I have both been rather tired lately. The other night, she was sprawled out on the floor, unmoving, and last night I opted for the the couch and Food Network rather than a game of pool with her and David. I've been kind of like that today, too. I feel so heavy and weighed-down, but not in my spirit, just physically and mentally. I don't know what's up. I hope badminton today cheers me up.

Valentine's Day looms within the next few days and Rebekah and I plan on spending it together... along with the other single girls from our semester in Oxford. We're going to have tea and enjoy being girly... or something like that.

We now have Rebekah's keyboard in our room and I feel privileged to hear her practice sometimes, because she doesn't like anyone to hear her play. (She thinks she's not very good - what a lie.) I'm also trying to learn on my own because I've always wanted to play. I wonder how long this will last.

Ahhhhh this is a hard week. So busy, so many tests, so many other extra things -- it's only half over... I don't like thinking like this though because I don't want to be living from weekend to weekend, with no peace in between. And I don't even like Saturdays! So I've been seeking God daily and it's making things easier. But I'm still weary.

By the way, I have a music recommendation for anyone who is looking for something new. I just bought Tenth Avenue North's album entitled Over and Underneath at the Campus Store last weekend (all CDs are $2!), and it is an awesome album for praising, worshiping and soaking. You may have heard a couple of their songs -- "Love Is Here" and "By Your Side" are playing on AirOne all the time. My personal current favorite is "Beloved." It's about God's unquenchable love for us. Simply beautiful. Receive it, go here to hear it. (I don't particularly like that picture, and they misspelled some of the lyrics, but the point is, the song's there.)


Quote of choice:
"Okay, D, D, J, and Edward Cullen. And I am so choosing Edward Cullen!"
- Rebekah

Cookies, Chocolate, Tea, and Boys

Last night we had a party in our room, complete with cookies, chocolate, tea, and boys (gasp!). When I brought the second guy up the desk workers looked at me oddly, asking, "Weren't you just down here with a different boy?" Thankfully when we let the third guy in, a new desk worker meant I didn't have to explain the influx of gentlemen into our room. Anyway, we had a good night and enjoyed playing around with the sound effects on my keyboard. JoAnna figured out the perfect combination of sounds to make me giggle incessantly.

We spent yesterday afternoon catching up on Lost. The show gets more confusing every week, but remains fascinating. We all squish onto Katherine's little love seat, pop some popcorn and enjoy the show. Lost is so deeply ingrained within me that I even had a flash-forward in my dream the other night!

Every day JoAnna ends up with more sweets. Her parents must love her a lot. I'm okay with it, though, because I also get to enjoy these treats. So, my thanks goes out to JoAnna's parents.

I didn't have a Greek quiz on Thursday, so that was a welcome relief. However, I do have a test next week, so if I suddenly disappear from the face of the earth, it's because I spontaneously combusted whilst parsing verbs.

Quote of the Day:
"Well, you're both the same shape." (Credit to Kat)

Psalm 113:3 ---

From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!


I woke up about an hour too early today. I meant to wake up just early enough to go to the library, get a drink, and finish the reading I didn't do last night because of visitation. I guess having people over last night confused me when it came to setting my alarm clock, or maybe I was just really tired and didn't realize what I was doing. Anyway, as I sat in the library, too early, enjoying my iced caramel macchiato, I tried to do my reading. However, I was distracted by the most beautiful sunrise in the clearest sky I had ever seen. Thank You, Jesus. Then I got to thinking about sunrises and sunsets, and finally I decided that I like sunrises more than sunsets. Why? Well, there are two different feelings I get when experiencing either one. A sunset is relaxation, adoration, sweetness. A sunrise is like God telling me, "Hey, remember me? Well, here I am, in all My glory. I love you so much and I'm giving you a new day." A sunrise is hope and a new beginning. It is a catalyst to love.

A little later, just before I was about to leave for class (after having done my reading, and then some, of course), I suddenly really missed last semester. I missed the newness of every experience. I missed most notably, strangely enough, the early mornings we'd have to get up while we were in Girona, Spain, and have to find a shop or bakery for breakfast. But... I'm here, and now. I decided that what God was ultimately showing me through thinking about the unending cycle of sunrises and sunsets was an appreciation for the little things in life, the routine, the ordinary; because often I fail to notice Him in it all. He reminded me of how glorious He is even in something that's not new, something that's been happening over and over again for thousands upon thousands of years: the rising and setting of the sun.

As a side note, we sang "Heavenly Sunlight" in chapel today. :)


My morning library encounter with God brought to mind this song for some reason:

"Inside Outside" by Delirious?

Inside outside, under my skin
Never ending love, I don’t know where it begins
I don’t know where it ends, I don’t know how high
I don’t know how deep, I don’t know how wide
Outside, inside around the world
Never ending love envelops me like a cloud
I feel You in front, I feel You behind
I feel You up above, and I feel You at the side

And You, You’re all over me, You’re all over me
Your banner is over me, I give it all ‘cause

You still captivate me, fascinate me
You still captivate me, saturate me

Inside outside, pulling me in
No matter where I run I know You’ll never give in
I see You in the storm, I see You in a kiss
I’ve been around the world and never found a love like this

You’re all over me, You’re all over me
You’re everything I want to be
I’m all over You, You’re everything I want to see
You’re all over me

You, still captivate me, fascinate me
You still captivate me, saturate me
You still captivate me, liberate me
You still captivate me

Intoxication by Laughter

Proof that we really are funny? After dinner last night a friend told me that she always feels drunk after hanging out with me. Did you know that laughter releases endorphins, thus causing you to become even happier? Happiness really is intoxicating and I always end up with a good ab workout after our times together.

We read some Fox News headlines online, and those things are strange. Headlines consisting of everything from “See-through Frogs Discovered in Colombian Rain Forest” to “Man Killed by Exploding Cell Phone” made us laugh out loud.

We have a stack of boxes here in our room, which we have assembled to form Pride Rock. Gutterball, JoAnna's plastic elephant from a kid's meal at Rosa's, is atop the structure (I got a kid's meal that same night, but do you think there was a toy in my bag? No siree, only JoAnna was privileged enough to be given a toy). You should probably come by and take a look at our masterpiece. And then you can write a note on the "I love Rebekah and JoAnna" board.

Speaking of wild animals, rumor has it that the Abilene Zoo will soon possess a white Bengal tiger. We're extremely excited about this addition and are making plans to go over there as soon as the tiger is here. Maybe you want to join us on our zoo day?

Sometimes we do crazy things in our room. We thought we’d give you just a taste of what goes on in here. Warning: Vast quantities of sugar and caffeine were involved. Enjoy and laugh.



Wonderful Words of JoAnna:
“We’re all fruit.”

From Dream Analysis to Pink Frosting

Going to bed around here is always a process. We'll get our PJs on, brush our teeth, wash our face, fiddle around on Facebook, discuss what time we're getting up in the morning, set our alarms, Rebekah will put lotion on the back of her hands, we'll turn out the lights and get into our beds. Sometimes our conversations will simply cease, but other times we'll spend over an hour just talking through the dark. However, I do not think we can blame these exchanges for Rebekah's wildly imaginative dreams, which are oftentimes the topic of morning conversations. Dinosaurs, puffins, flying, vampires, babies... We love to attempt interpretations, and so far what we've come up with is nothing very positive, but at least we don't actually believe it. It's fun, either way.

Yesterday at lunch Rebekah tried to talk without using her hands (she actually folded her arms tightly). Because of this, her shoulders and head ended up doing the talking, which was pretty much the highlight of my mealtime, except for that pile of broccoli I ate.

My parents sent me a Valentine's Day package. I just got it today even though my dad tracked it and said it had arrived and was signed off on last Thursday. So, after being patient and waiting for a slip in my mailbox, which I never got, I finally just went to the window today and asked them about it. They realized that they really did have it and just happened to not print out a notification for some reason or another. Ah, well. Anyway, I now have three dozen heart-shaped sugar cookies and two little containers of pink and white frosting. If you want some, ask me. I definitely have enough to share! Receive the love. Oh, and among other things, they also sent me two pairs of Valentine socks. Those I will not share, but I just thought you should know that my massive collection of fun socks continues to grow.

And now for some notable quotes from Rebekah:
1) "If you look up boy in the dictionary, right there, it says dumb." (Don't worry, guys, we really do like you; we were just talking about certain differences between guys and girls...)
2) "Since I have a MIDI-USB connector, I can do anything!" (How's that for optimism?)

Too Much Sugar

JoAnna and I just got back from a Super Awesome Super Bowl party. If you don’t know from experience, let me tell you: put a bunch of girls together with chips, dip, cookies and cake and you’ll have the time of your life. It was pretty intense, which is kind of funny since the only reason I rooted for my team was because their mascot name starts with a “C”, the same letter as my last name. I’m sure JoAnna had more noble reasons for backing up that same team.

This week's snow day, well ice day really, ensured that our schedules for the rest of the semester will be messed up. But hey, we got to sleep in, hang out and skip classes. What more can a college student ask for?

Last night we made our end-of-the-week coffee run in an attempt to use extra meal plans. Drinks were good and the caffeine and sugar rush quickly knocked JoAnna over. I’m actually not exaggerating at all; she laughed so hard that she fell to the pavement and rolled around in hysterics. I was laughing a bit myself, but I managed to remain upright.

JoAnna refuses to tell me her middle name, probably because she is just so stubborn. Actually, I think it’s because she has told me before and by not remembering it now I am proving to be a very poor excuse for a roommate. Don’t worry, I’ll get it out of her somehow.

Quotes to remember:
“Maybe their egos are bigger than their stomachs.”
“Gordon Brown is my homie.”
"Chris-tofer"
“You can’t really expect me to believe that you, a British woman, and a Chinese man are all members of the United States military.” (Lost – you should watch it)

I’ll leave you with this thought: How would the world be different if all cups were square?