I Hate Everyone

It’s Friday of Spring break — last chance to party (or hang out in the library)!

Let’s do it up — Friday Listday style.

1. Yesterday, whilst doing a routine image search for “teacup piglet,” I discovered that my blog happens to come up in that search. That’s odd, isn’t it? Also, if you’re my Facebook friend, you should check out my profile now because that goodness is only lasting another couple of days.

It is time for some darlingness!

He just wanted to take a tiny moment to make sure he wasn’t running a tiny little bit late.

2. I am sad because none of this week’s videos will post directly onto the bloggy. But if you like Friday Night Lights you should go check out this video. It’s Friday Night Lights if it were a women’s basketball team. Also, there’s some gender confusion. “Two Arms, Two Legs, Let’s Go!”

3. You guys. My phone number has been compromised. I received 12 calls from weird numbers yesterday. Twelve. How did this happen? If you call and I yell at you, please forgive me.

4. Here’s another video that you must watch if you’re a fan of Downton Abbey. My friend Rebekah showed it to me, and it cracked me up. Things are tense over at Downton Arbys.

5. This sweet old lady and I hate everyone.

6. So, remember how I’ve talked about Axis before? I’m on their board and they travel the country speaking to high school and college students about worldview and media and like such as? Well, I have a favor to ask. They’re trying to get a grant, and part of the deal is getting votes from people like you. If you just click this link and then click “vote” I will be so appreciative and I might quit nagging you. It’s seriously super, super easy. Thanks, bloggy friends!

7. Here are some things that make me happy: It is supposed to be 84 degrees tomorrow. I feel like I’m making progress on my thesis proposal (but oh my word, then I have to actually write a thesis!). I have really good and thoughtful and consistent and nice friends. I have a good roommate. I am learning so much about my God who is active in every sense of the word and has asked me to act as well.

Have a good and joyful and amazingtastic weekend!

 

Gifts of Goodness

Friday Listday is about to come at you like a whirlwind.

1. Oh, man, you guys. Overwhelmed with goodness. Last night I got home to gifts and cards that had come in the mail. They blessed me so. I received two cards — one from my kind grandma and one from my sweet grandpa — the one who had a birthday this week. Grandma sent me $10 and some stamps (I mean, why not?) and called me “first class.” Grandpa sent me the cutest card that will go on my postcard wall and he told me that he is proud of me. He signed it, “Grandpa Dale (your special).” Heart. Bursting.

2. I also received a package from my mom. She sent me a sweet card and some tea and some of her famous cookies. She suggested we go to Israel together in May. So we shall. She is the bestest. She also sent me this picture of my brother and cousin napping together when they were little. A tiny brown boy and a pale little man. Best nappy time friends.

3. My final gift was a package from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum in Missouri. You guys. Yes, my heart skipped a beat. Laura and Almanzo moved to Missouri with their daughter, and Almanzo built them a wonderful house there. They lived there for the rest of their lives. It is where Laura wrote her books. My sweet and dear friend Kerry had ordered me a bookmark and a pin from the Laura museum. Kerry reads my bloggy and knows of my Ingalls obsession and decided to send me these gifts because she is thoughtful and kind and the awesomest. And just as I was sad that I was finished reading them! I will cherish these gifts, and you better believe that I will wear my pin.

4. So, these were all the gifts waiting for me when I got home last night. I cried with gratefulness — the gifts were lovely, but overall I was just so blessed and overwhelmed by the love of each of these people.

As I write this, I feel like I understand what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself” as Jesus asked us to do. Each of these people went out of their way to bring me cheer and remind me of God’s love and his provision. The Lord is so good to us, and he uses his people to show us his love. I am blessed.

5. OK, switching gears. We celebrated Purim last night. I’ll post a few more pictures next week, but I thought you might want to hear how it sounds when we read the Esther story and blot out the name of Haman every time it is mentioned in the text. So my friend Diana the Sailor made you this video. (Also, I’m wearing a feather boa because I was originally dressed as a peacock for my Purim costume.)

6. Charles in Charge (my dad) is coming to town this weekend! We’re going to hang out and go to the Broadmoor and listen to good music and be friends. It should be fun times.

7. If you’ve watched Friday Night Lights then you love Landry Clarke. Well, Landry (a.k.a. Jesse Plemons) in a band (not Crucifictorious) called Cowboy and Indian. They will be releasing a CD soon, but they have a couple of songs out on iTunes already. This is one of them. I love it. You should listen.

OK, I hope you have a good weekend and feel the love of Jesus and show it to others too. Lots of love.

Denise

If I Lay Here

I’ve heard that it’s Friday. That can only mean one thing. A very random list of things on this here bloggy.

1. I think we should start with this.

2. Yesterday I made gluten-free pancakes. They were a little flat and chewy, but overall, not too bad. I also had real maple syrup on them, which I thought I hated, but turns out it was pretty good. Next I will make maple candy in the snow like Laura did.

3. Speaking of which, I found this fun site where you can get recipes that are mentioned in the Little House books and take quizzes based on facts from the books. I just took a quiz and aced it. Jealous much?

4. Taylor Kitsch (a.k.a. Tim Riggins, a.k.a. my future husband) has been doing interviews for his horrible new movie John Carter. He was on Regis and Kelly (or whatever it is called now that Regis has apparently been replaced by guest hosts like Alec Baldwin) and he was lovely. Someone in the audience had a “Texas Forever” sign and he talked a bit about Friday Night Lights. The most important news is that apparently old Taylor is building a house in Austin and spent a lot of time researching for movie roles at UT where Jaci goes to school. Thus, she has been tasked with finding out his exact location so that next time I come to visit we can “run into him” and he and I can start our fairytale romance.

5. Vulnerability Corner with Denise: It has been a tough week. Pray for me. I’ll pray for you too.

6. What’s that? You would like to see another video interview of celebrities I like? OK, here’s Dax Shepard and Joy Bryant (Crosby and Jasmine on Parenthood) talking about their “wedding.” Also, I think I would like to work on the Parenthood set. They all seem to have so much fun together. And who doesn’t want to get to know all those crazy Bravermans better? Let’s make this happen — I could write for TV, right? Next season on Parenthood, Crosby’s best man’s younger brother comes to Berkeley and falls in love with a TV screenwriter from Colorado…

7. And I think we should end with this. Let’s just forget the world with Llama Patrol.

Have a blessed weekend!

Movie Madness

Well, hello, friends!

I am feeling so cheery because of the NO SCHOOL FOR FIVE WEEKS!!!!

To celebrate, I apparently went crazy and saw two movies in the theater this weekend. I never do that. But both of them were great, so it was totally worth it. The Muppets movie was so good — cute and hilarious and clean. When those chickens bawked out “Forget You” I lost it. I think I like their version of the song more than Cee Lo’s. I also saw Sherlock Holmes this weekend and it was excellent. Hilarious and clever and good action. I want to marry someone funny and clever like old Holmes. Let me know if you know of someone.

ALSO, I saw a preview for the new movie Battleship. It looks fairly awful — it’s based on the board game of the same name, and it basically looks like a cheap copy of Transformers. However, both Tim Riggins and Landry from Friday Night Lights are in it, so I will be there with bells on. Literal bells.

A bunch of friends came over yesterday to watch the Broncos game. We ate chili and dang quesadillas and cheered for Tom Brady’s demise. The streak is over, but there’s still hope. That Broncos team wants to win and I think they’ll be pretty successful.

Umm, I read the first two chapters of The Hunger Games last night, and it’s super depressing and kind of makes me want to die. I mean, they’ve explained what the Hunger Games are, and in case you were wondering, they do not sound fun. And life is pretty depressing for old Catnip and her family. And for the continent formerly known as North America. Why do people like these books? Does it stay awful like that? I don’t know if I can take it.

Christmas is so soon, you guys! I wish I had bought at least one present. I blogged over at Boundless about the book Touching Wonder by John Blase. It’s a look at the Christmas story, and it’s awesome. I’m not kidding — for someone so familiar with the story, it’s been eye-opening and awe-inducing. You should definitely read it.

So, remember how I’m celebrating the biblical holidays this year? Three of them are in the fall, and four of them in the spring. However, we have a couple in between that aren’t technically biblical holidays, but I’m going to celebrate them anyway. Neither Hanukkah nor Purim (the holiday related to Esther) are commanded by God, but both are mentioned in the Bible, and both are still widely celebrated by Jewish people, so I’m going to look into them and do a little celebrating as well. I mean, who doesn’t like to celebrate?

Hanukkah starts at sundown tomorrow night — I’ve got my menorah all ready. I’ll blog more about the holiday tomorrow so that we can be all knowledgeable before we start lighting our candles.

OK, hafta go not do homework! Have a great Monday, friends!

We So Excited

Gotta get down on Friday! Let’s get our list on, shall we?

1. One week left in the semester! Two tests, one bibliography, infinite amounts of whining to go!

2. Tonight I get to spend some time in Colorado Springs for some Christmas tradition with my friends. It may or may not include some Chili’s queso, a movie, and some singalong times at the Broadmoor.

3. False.

4. Yesterday in class, my professor said it’s important to read Revelation symbolically and with the understanding that John and his readers would have been able to comprehend it in their 1st century world. Which is pretty much the opposite of the way a lot of people read it.

5. This was the most disturbing thing I found on Pinterest this week.

6. Last night on Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope said “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose.” My life is complete.

7. It’s Moo.

OK, have a great weekend, friends!

 

Of Demon Horses and Dumb and Dumber

Wow, that’s a dumb title.

We’re doing list day a bit early folks, because tomorrow is a holiday and I will be too busy eating to be bothered with blogging. Priorities.

1. My friends Becca and Jeff and their sweet girls stopped by school yesterday! I’ve worked with Becca, but they recently moved to Kansas City and I never see her anymore. It was so good to catch up, and chat and whine about writing together.

2. I’ve gone to the airport twice in the last two days. Denver’s airport is not in Denver. It’s basically in Kansas. It’s seriously so far from where everyone in the entire world lives. I’m sure it’s nice that no one has planes flying over their houses, but seriously, airport. Move on in. Also, they have a demon horse at the airport. This is what greets you as you drive in:

It’s about nine million feet tall, and its eyes literally glow red like that. Welcome to Denver!

3. In Lauren Winner’s book Mudhouse Sabbath she talks about a lot of Jewish traditions, and one of them is the mourning period. When you’re in mourning for a relative who has died you say the Kaddish prayer. It is an odd prayer for mourning, because it says nothing about being sad. Instead, the prayer goes like this: “Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled, mighty, upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He, beyond any blessing or song.”

The mourner’s prayer is one of praise to God. Lauren says this: “Even in the pit, even in depression and loss and nonsense, still we respond to God with praise. This is not to say that the mourner should not feel what he feels — anger, disbelief, hatred. He can feel those things (and shout them out to God; God can take it). You do not have to feel praise in the intense moments of mourning, but the praise is still true, and insisting upon it over and over, twice a day every day, ensures that eventually you will come to remember the truth of those praises.” Beautiful.

4. Here is one of my favorite pictures from Pinterest lately.

5. What are you doing for Thanksgiving? I am going to spend time with friends down in Colorado Springs. I will be making my Grandma Winnie’s cornbread stuffing. What are you making?

6. I also like this picture. Coach. Tammy. Love.

6. Hey, if you want to, you can subscribe to my blog and get an email whenever I update it! Just click “hecks yes” at the bottom of the homepage. That way I won’t have to annoy my Facebook friends with so many links. Everyone wins.

7. I hope you have a lovely weekend and get some good rest. Be thankful for all He has done!

JeNOvah

That title is probably kind of sacrilegious.

I would like to start out by saying that some people named Chad (names have been preserved to expose the guilty) think it’s pointless and sad to blog about things like Friday Night Lights. Also, some people named Chad will probably get beaten up by Tim Riggins and The Smash. Just. Saying.

Well, how is your day? Yesterday I left my house one time to go to dinner with my sweet friend Martine. The rest of the time I was inside, wearing sweatpants, drinking coffee, and looking at the snow. I also managed to squeeze in about 4.2 minutes of work. It was so nice not to have to go anywhere though, you guys! Sometimes I really like not doing things.

So, here are some things my professor talked about in Hebrew the other night. Jehovah isn’t a word. Surprise!

Vowels aren’t original to Hebrew — they were added later to help with pronunciation. Also, vowels in Hebrew look like little dots and dashes under or over the consonants. And yes, it is terrifying when you’re in your first semester of Hebrew and you look at the Bible and all the insanely foreign letters are surrounded by Morse code.

So, a group of Hebrew scribes called the Masoretes were super detailed and good at transcribing. They’re the ones who put together the Hebrew Bible I use in my classes today, and it is their Hebrew text that we base our English Bible translations on.

Anyhoo, the Masoretes (along with the rest of the Jewish people) had a great reverence for God’s name, first revealed to Moses at the burning bush. We pronounce this name as “Yahweh,” although no one is exactly sure how it should be pronounced (because the vowels aren’t original). In our English Bibles, any time “Yahweh” is used, we see LORD in all caps instead.

The name Yahweh with no vowels.

Because God’s name is so holy, the Jewish people don’t pronounce it. The Masoretes wanted to make sure that people didn’t accidentally pronounce God’s name, so when they added vowels to the biblical text, they used the vowels that you would use to pronounce the word “Adonai” or “Lord” around Yahweh. This way, when people were reading and came to God’s name, they would see the consonants for Yahweh, but because of the vowels around them, they would know to pronounce it as “Adonai” out of respect for God’s name.

Is this making any sense? Are you sleeping? Rude.

Anyhoos, this is consistent through the Hebrew Masoretic text. But then someone like me — someone non-Jewish and not familiar with what the Masoretes were trying to do — came along and tried to pronounce the name of Yahweh according to the vowels. They didn’t know that those vowels were there so that you would say “Adonai” instead. They just started sounding out the word according to both the consonants and the vowels.

Seriously, any sense at all? Wake up! I’m almost done.

When you sound out the consonants and the vowels in the Hebrew text, it sounds like Ye-ho-vah. Jehovah.

So that’s where it comes from, but really it’s not a word — it’s just a mispronunciation of Yahweh according to the vowels that were put there to make sure you didn’t try to pronounce Yahweh. I guess it didn’t work. Poor Masoretes. They tried so hard.

As my professor pointed out, this is bad news for Jehovah’s Witnesses. And for all of our songs about Jehovah Jireh.

Why yes, you are very welcome for this fascinating Hebrew lesson!

Whew. That failed attempt at teaching I just did wore me out. I had better get back to not doing things. Talk to you soon!

Because My Throat is Sore

Oh, hi.

This will not be a very long or interesting or informative or useful or worth-your-time blog post because I don’t feel berry good today. Last night in my theology class I was very whiny because my eyes hurt and my head hurt, and I thought I was just making myself feel sick because I didn’t want to be in theology class. But I woke up with a real sore throat today! Poor, poor me. You should probably send me some treats to help me feel better. And some money. And some Tim Riggins.

Our next biblical holiday, Sukkot, starts tomorrow at sundown, so I will try to quit whining about my throat long enough to write something up. Also, for Sukkot you’re supposed to literally build a shelter, like with nails and wood and a hammer, so it’s sure to be disastrous. I’m not going to build anything, folks. Let’s not even pretend that will happen.

So, because I am not feeling that great, I went through my iPhone to find some recent pictures to share with you. It’s sure to be very, very exciting.

This is a car I saw while driving home from school one day. It’s a Ghostbusters car. For real. I’m not sure if it is actually used to bust ghosts, or if it’s a novelty item. Either way, I felt sad for the driver.

This is a trailer that is apparently a full-service dog washing business. A pickup truck was pulling it along, ready to wash some dogs. Can’t get out of the house? No problem. Tina will come to you. Don’t have running water at your house to rinse off your own dog? Have running water at your house, but you’re way too lazy to clean your puppy? DO NOT EVEN WORRY. Tina is on her way and will be at your place in a jiffy. Do it for your dog, you guys.

Speaking of animals, here is some beautiful fabric I saw at Hobby Lobby the other day. It’s soft, just like a cat. It’s cozy, just like a cat. And if you’re ever missing your cats, don’t even worry because this fabric is full of cats. Gorgeous. Jilly Bean, I have already started stitching this into a quilt for you.

So, I like vintage things, and this summer I’d been looking for a cute, green vintage fan for my room. Of course, I didn’t want to pay more than a dollar, so it was tough. But, I was at an antique fair one day and the winds of luck blew (hahaha! like a fan!) my way, you guys. I found this darling, vintage fan for $20!

Well, in an unfortunate turn of events, I am illiterate. I plugged my fan in and turned it on and got very confused because it was blowing hot air on me. Like really hot air. I looked at the tag on my fan and saw that it said “heater.” I had bought a darling little heater for $20. Because I’m awesome. The awesomeness continued because I apparently accidentally take screen shots on my phone a lot. After my heater/fan debacle I texted my friend Diana about it, and since I am unable to read and unable to use technology, I found this gem in my pictures.

 I can’t read, I take a lot of accidental pictures with my phone (I don’t even know how to purposely do a screen shot), and according to the space bar on my phone, I am typing in Spanish. Don’t be jealous, y’all. It’s quite a treat being me.

Well, lastly, and most awesomely, I will show you my new favorite thing on my fridge.

If you ever need a reminder to be awesome, to be good at your marriage, to have gorgeous hair, or to say “y’all” a lot, just think, What Would Tami Taylor Do? I got this sticker from Liz over at Peace, Love and Guacamole. She’s a blogger, and she made these, and she sent me one just because I asked! Read her blog. It’s what Tami Taylor would do, y’all.

K, I gotta go find someone to whine to about my sore throat. I’ll see you tomorrow to talk about Sukkot!

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Dead Rats, Can’t Lose!

Hi!

It’s Monday. When you’re a student, Monday is pretty much like Saturday and Sunday, except no football. Except if you have cable, there is football on Monday. So Monday is … I don’t know. Let’s move on.

I’ve got lots to do this week. There are lessons to write and homework to do, and I’m heading down to Arkansas for Micah’s wedding! Please don’t tell her that my dress doesn’t fit. She’ll find out soon enough when I walk down the aisle with my zipper only halfway up.

Here are two stories from yesterday to keep you entertained. And by “entertained,” I mean “pretty grossed out” and “feeling pity for me over my pathetic TV addictions.”

Story #1: Yesterday I went to Ikea to pick up some frames for Micah’s table numbers. She is super popular and lots of people are coming to her fabulous wedding, so she needed some extra frames. So, I parked in the Ikea parking lot, just happy to be at my fave store. But my glee soon faded away … I got out of my car and noticed what I thought was a puddle of melted vanilla ice cream right by my foot. But wait, ice cream doesn’t have fur, does it? I looked a little closer. As far as I remember, ice cream also does not have a tail. Or eyes. Or tiny little rat toe nails. As I am pretty quick and clever, it only took me about ten minutes to figure out that THERE WAS A COMPLETELY FLATTENED WHITE RAT NEXT TO MY FOOT.

You guys. My top fears equal: 1. Bats. 2. Rats. 3. Mice. 4. Getting a B. My number two fear was next to my sandaled foot!! Commence vomiting. Actually, I didn’t vomit, but I whined about the possibility of vomiting to my friend Diana for the next hour. My lawyer is writing up my lawsuit to Ikea right now. Mental trauma, you guys.

Story #2: The Emmys were on last night. Who cares, right? Exactly. Except that I caught the last hour or so, and spent much of it all verklempt. Friday Night Lights is obvs one of my top two shows, and it was nominated for best writing, best drama, and best actor and actress. First of all, it never gets nominated. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton were nominated the year before, and that was a first. It’s been pretty roundly ignored by “the academy.” So it was huge that they had four nominations for their last year. They would never win, though. No one knows FNL and it was up against Mad Men and Game of Thrones and other expensive shows. Everybody had been predicting that the fancy shows would win.

But, you guys, Jason Katims won for writing and my sweet, crabby Coach Taylor won for best actor! I loved it. They got the biggest cheers of the night, because some people realize how awesome they are. The FNL cast members who were there looked so shocked and excited. The cast members who weren’t there were on Twitter, and they were freaking out. Scott Porter (a.k.a. Jason Street) said he was literally crying because Kyle Chandler is the best man he’s ever met.

Kyle Chandler was so shocked to be winning, and he laughed just like Coach, and in my delusional head, they are the same person, and he and Dillon had just won state! And then Jason Katims ended his speech with “clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” and suddenly my contacts were bothering me very much and making my eyes water. I know it’s sad to love a show that much, but I do. I don’t care if you think I’m crazy. Lock me up. With Tim Riggins.

Also, if you feel bad for me and my crazy, you should watch this clip. You’ll be hooked by the end of it. And you’ll turn just as crazy as I am.

K, I really do have a lot to get done, but I just wanted to say “hi.” BE CAREFUL next time you go to Ikea.

Joves!

Denise

A List

You guys. That title could be read two ways. Unfortunately, it’s not the cool way. I’ve not been invited to any A-list parties by my best friend, Landry. No, the title just refers to the fact that this post will be in list form. Sad.

What, you haven't seen this yet? Just Jaci and me with Jesse Plemons from Friday Night Lights. NBD. Whatevs. Let's not even talk about it. Boring.

I guess I only blog when I am supremely desperate to avoid work. Today is that day. I have so very much to do, but that overwhelms me, and when I get overwhelmed I just end up doing nothing. It’s really not all that successful of a way to operate, but hey, you’re getting a blog post so quit judging.

Also, since my overwhelmed brain is not good at putting together sentences today (which is really making things rough for the poor, incomprehensible Rio lesson I’m working on), today’s blog post will be brought to you in the form of a list. A numbered list, even. Fancy.

1. We are back in the old swing of things here at Den Sem. Let’s agree to define “swing of things” as “I stumble to class, stare blankly at the professor, stagger over to the library, and then spend a lot of time whining to everyone about the amount of homework that I’m not doing.” I am officially taking 11 credits, which already feels like plenty, but for the next month, I’m also sitting in on some Greek classes. Which leads us to fascinating fact #2…

2. I’m going to Israel next summer! Shema it, y’all. School is going on a trip, and I feel that it is my privilege and duty as a delusional, wannabe Jewess to go along. I’m super excited, but it’s caused a bit of a struggle for my schedule. I need to take Greek next summer, but I’ll miss the first two weeks because of the trip. Therefore, I’m sitting in on some Greek classes right now so that I am not completely lost when I get back from the pilgrimage to my homeland next June. I’m so excited!!! Israel, you guys. And I’ll be able to read lots of Hebrew and I’ll get to visit the Old City and I’ll come back a real Jew. I’ve even heard some rumors that Jilly Bean is going to tag along!

3. My friend Micah is getting married next week, which means fun times in Arkansas! We’re heading down on Wednesday, and I’m super excited to see The Doge get hitched. I tried my bridesmaid dress on a couple of days ago and, in an unfortunate turn of events, I seem to have gained 78.3 pounds since I last tried it on. I think I’m going to try that trick from I Love Lucy and sit in a steam machine for the next few days. I could try to quit eating nonstop, but that doesn’t sound like as much fun.

4. Some of the fall TV shows premiere this week and I’m thrilled! (Again with the judging! I told you to stop.) I’m looking forward to my old favorite Parenthood. I also want to see if the new shows Up All Night, The New Girl, Person of Interest, and Whitney are any good. Any shows you’re looking forward to?

5. I had a party a couple of weeks ago. I’m on a vintage kick, so it was very old school. Maybe I will post some pics on a day that I’m not so very lazy. What a glorious day that will be.

6. Because school and work and life can be overwhelming, these are my theme verses for the semester. We press on, not with grit-our-teeth strength, but with the glory-strength God graciously gives to us. Amen and amen.

7. Bye. I’ll try to write again soon. (Probably sooner than you think, as blog posts are so much more fun than papers and translation homework!)