ohmyhair!

There's just something about getting a haircut... it makes all of your troubles disappear. I went to visit my lovely Amy today, and left with a fresh, new, AMAZING haircut. She sure works some magic on my crazy hair. After it grows for about 3 weeks, my hair takes on a mind of it's own. This is EXTREMELY frustrating when it comes to trying to style my untamed tresses. If you've seen me in the last 3 days, you'll have noticed I've been wearing a hat... it's the only thing that can hide the wildness! So, the highlight of the day today: my fantastic haircut.

Summer Bummer

I went to Marketfest tonight for the first time this year. Such a hugely horrible idea. First of all, I grew up in Arcata. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the weather in Arcata, but I'll let you in on a little secret; the all time high over there is in the 70's. It's never hot there. There is fog. All the time. Thick fog in the morning which burns off into thinner fog in the afternoon. Until the evening fog rolls back in. Fog usually keeps the temperature right around 60 degrees. This is the weather I grew up in for 18 years of my life. 60 degrees all year round. Lots of rain, even more fog, and the occasional burst of sunlight for a total of 20 minutes a week. Now, compare this weather to the ghastly weather here in Redding. It was pretty darn close to 100 degrees today. I've lived in Redding for 6 summers now, and I promise you, I'll never get used to this heat. You know what I'm talking about... the kind of heat that makes you think your skin is literally melting off of your body... the kind of heat that makes your brain physically shut down... I become the most unpleasant person known to man kind when I get hot. I'm not even kidding. I turn into a disgruntled, grouchy, whiny, short-tempered, sweaty, sassy person when I'm hot. What's worse is mixing the heat with large groups of people. That just makes me anxious and unpleasant... not a good combo. For those of you who have ventured out to experience Marketfest, you know that there are always a million people milling around Library Park, trying to find the spot where the giant misters hit you just right. So huge group of crazy people paired with unbearable heat equals a pretty unhappy and grouchy Emily... Next time I'm thinking about going to Marketfest, will somebody PLEASE talk me out of it??

Use my story, Lord!

On Sunday, Dan spoke on how we are each a chosen instrument for specific things in life. How we each have a unique and compelling story that MAKES us that chosen instrument. Dan spoke about how God uses our stories to reach others who are in those same places... those dark, lonely, scary, painful places. So often we ask God "WHY??? WHY ME GOD? Why this pain? Why this addiction? Why this heartbreak? Why? Why? Why?" Instead, we should be asking God "When?" When do you want to use my story God? When can I help somebody else who's in the same place I've been? When can my story bring freedom to somebody else? For years I lived in the land of "Why?". 7 years to be exact. Why this struggle God? Why this addiction God? Why can't you free me from it? Why seven years of pain and loneliness and shame? For the longest time, I lived in that world... but in one instant, God brought redemption to those 7 years. In one word, God gave me FREEDOM from a 7 year battle. In that moment, I began living in the land of "When". For over a year now, I've been wondering when my story will be used to bring healing to others. In the past, God's spoken very clearly to me about waiting to share my story. There have been times I wanted so badly to share, but God's words "Not yet" reminded me to be patient. The cool thing about God is that He doesn't make you wait forever :) On Sunday I'll be sharing my testimony with the 7:00 gathering at the Stirring. My prayer is that there will be people there on Sunday night who will connect with my story... who I can encourage and remind of God's amazing timing and love for us. Use my story, Lord. Use all of my story.