Mormonism was #21!

Today, as I was trolling through the Thinklings archives (these 40 hour work weeks are SOOO difficult ;)), I stumbled across this gem...


According to the Christian Denomination Selector...

• My #1 result: Reformed Baptist

• My #2 result: Presbyterian Church in America/Orthodox Presbyterian Church

• My #3 result: Reformed Churches

• My #4 result: Southern Baptist

• My #5 result: Assemblies of God

My top five were all pretty close, though I was kinda surprised by the Assemblies of God result. But I guess ya never know...they always say college is the best time to experiment ;)

So what about you?

P.S. Please spare me the comments about how you aren't defined by a denomination or whatever... I get it already! Ha.

For the Ladies

John Piper's Challenge to Women is awesome, encouraging and convicting.

1. That all of your life—in whatever calling—be devoted to the glory of God.
2. That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.
3. That this fullness of God overflow in daily acts of love so that people might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in heaven.
4. That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching. That meditation on Biblical truth be the source of hope and faith. And that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others...

You should really go read the whole thing...

Just do it.

In an attempt to be more interactive, this post is for all 3 (or so) of you that read this blog. Participation = Required ;)

Now buckle your seat belt, it's time to choose!


Winter or Summer

Christmas or Birthdays

Giving Gifts or Receiving Gifts

Hot Chocolate or Coffee

Ice Cream or Cookies

Watching TV or Reading

Action Adventure or Comedy

Owen Wilson or Luke Wilson

The Notebook or A Walk to Remember

David Keresh or Joseph Smith

Peter or Paul

Snickers or Snickerdoodles

Hot Dogs or Corndogs

Reindeer or Elves

Snowmen or Snowcones

Gloomy Days or Sunshine

Augustine or Calvin

Candler or Driscoll

Soup or Salad

Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus

Michael Buble or John Mayer

History or Sociology

Barak Obama or Michelle Obama

Firefox or Internet Explorer

Mandy Moore: Singer or Actress

Shane&Shane or Hillsong

LeCrae or Kanye

Black Death: Disease or Cult

Funnier: Will Ferrel or Steve Carrell

Don't worry, I'm still alive

Alright, I won't spend a lot of time apologizing for my lack of blogging, just know that I'm back and plan on getting back in the swing of things.

In other news, Christmas this year was a year of firsts. It was the first year without my grandma, the first year where Kaitlyn really knew what was going on, the first year with Ryan as a almost legitimate bro in law, the first year we didn't go to Papadeux for Christmas Eve dinner, and the first year my dad and I went to the Christmas Eve service alone. But even though it was different, it was still a really sweet time with family, and I really enjoyed getting to spend time with everyone. This past week has gone by SO FAST...I can't believe I have to go back to Dallas on Monday.

So here are some of the highlights of the week:

1. Kaitlyn is so much fun now! Even though I wasn't sure it'd be possible, she's even cuter than before. Also, she called me "My Dani" this trip and my heart just about stopped.

2. My sister, Kelly, got engaged to her long time bf (Ryan).

3. Watching bridal shows with my mom even though she's totally not in to that stuff.

4. Having a long discussion with my dad about ministry.

5. Watching Kaitlyn open all of her Christmas presents...homegirl got a TON of fun toys this year. Oh, and I managed to find her a red-headed doll as part of her gift from me. PERF.

6. Cooking Christmas lunch with my mom (always one of my favorite parts of being home).

7. Spending the night with Molly, Kate, Amanda, and Kelsey.

8. One word: Perm

9. Hanging with my Poppy. He is by far one of my favorite people of all time.

10. Christmas Cafe with LG, Danica and Yermey.

Navigating Dallas = Fail.

Last night I had a meeting with my group leader from the covenant membership class I attended a while back. It was supposed to be a relatively quick meeting where I just showed up, shared my testimony, asked some questions, and signed the covenant. Only problem was that she wanted to meet me on the other side of Dallas...

I don't know how many of you know this, but I am THE WORST with directions. Seriously, if I was any worse I'd get lost walking to work.

But nevertheless, I was determined to get this meeting knocked out, so I printed out directions and went on my way.

Problem #1: I miss my first exit.
Problem #2: I keep driving for 20 minutes before I realize problem #1.
Problem #3: I turn around to correct my mistake and drive for another 35 minutes...past my exit again.
Problem #4: I finally get on the right track and find the destination...an HOUR after I was supposed to be there.
VICTORY #1: I sign the Covenant!! And I try Bubble Tea...not sure if the last part counts as a victory. Ha.
Problem #5: Insane Dallas traffic on the way back. I probably went 5 mph for 45 minutes.
Problem #6: I almost get run over multiple times.
Problem #7: I take 35E going North...I should have taken 35E going South. Another 45 minutes of wasted time.
Problem #8: I finally turn around and head towards campus and exit Loop 12 West. I should have exited Loop 12 East.
Problem #9: I end up in the ghetto with NO idea where I am or how to find out.
Problem #10: I REALLY had to pee by this point, but couldn't stop anywhere because everything was so shady.
Victory #2: Apparently there was a GPS laying on the passenger side floorboard the whole time.
Victory #3: I finally make it back to campus at 8:35 pm.
Problem #11: I had a final paper due by 11pm.
Victory #4: I finish and submitted my paper at 10:59pm!!

Needless to say last night was a wee bit stressful...but today it's over (can I get an Amen?!). I actually think it's pretty funny now, in an I-hate-my-life type of way ;)

Maybe I should start praying that I marry someone with a great sense of direction... otherwise our poor children will be out of luck!

The best kind of encouragement

Today at church they showed this video from Matt:


http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/blog/hvpastor/


Hope it blesses you like it blessed me.

Walking in a Paper Wonderland

This year my office entered the Christmas decorating contest for pretty much the first time ever. It was so intense. Since we didn't have any decorations to speak of, the other student worker (Savannah) and I spent HOURS upon HOURS hand crafting decorations made of paper. They are ridiculously precious. So we spent all day Monday and Tuesday (and a few micelaneous hours before then) decorating our tiny little office, yada yada yada, we ended up not even placing. It was a total robbery. But PTL, one of the advisors threw us a pizza party anyway :)



Since it's Christmas and such I decided to share some of our Christmas spirit with you guys. Enjoy!


What you see when you first walk in...


"Jesus is the reason for the season!"-cheesy AND classy ;)


The paper chain that took me FOREVER

Our faux Christmas tree and Christmas Countdown! (P.S. I know you can't see it, but we made personalized "face" ornaments for everyone in our office...including matching hair and eye color! So legit.)

The precious fireplace, stockings and tree.

Ok, that about sums it up! I know you guys probably don't care, but we worked really hard on all this. Ha. I feel obligated to show it off ;)

Oh, and in case you didn't know, Christmas is only 22 days away!