chi town.

i really want to go back to chicago.

it is one of my favorite places to go. 1. because it is vastly different from montgomery, or anywhere else in the south for that matter. 2. its diversity attracts people from all walks of life, making chicago one of a kind. 3. where else can you get the BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD?? yeah i did not think so....

love this picture of the bean...this is when i fell in love with mom's camera

but i do love chicago. from the navy pier to michigan avenue and all the way to wrigley field and back to that shiny bean again. so many awesome memories. so many awesome places to re-visit. i cannot wait to find myself lost in a giant department store or sitting out next to the great lake. oh chi town how i long for you...

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monday i finished a book called "my sister's keeper." there is a movie now that was made after the book with cameron diaz and abigail breslin, but i have not seen it yet. so i got the book from kimmy because she said it was excellent. i finished it in about 3 days. it was spectacular. extremely sad though. i even cried. but it is worth the read.

all that to say that i began reading another book yesterday. it is one that i began, got frustrated with the author, and quit. i picked it up yesterday after my test and the face that i did not want to watch tv.

blue like jazz. written by donald miller. i have heard it is one of those "you gotta read" Christian books or whatever.... i am not big into trends, however a friend offered it, so i took that chance. like i said, i was not impressed. it got about 50 pages in and put the book down. it did not do anything for me, challenge me, encourage me... nothing.

but i thought i might give ole donald another chance yesterday. and you know what? he surprised me. now about 100 pages deep, mr. miller is really interesting to me.

for example, i read this last night and it stuck with me....

i found myself trying to love the right things without God's help, and it was impossible. I tried to go one week without thinking a negative thought about another human being, and i couldn't do it. before i tried that experiment, i thought u was a nice person, but after trying it, i realized i thought bad things about people all day long, and that, {was} my natural desire to love darkness.

when i read this paragraph, i started to understand that whenever you try to accomplish something without God, you fail.

i have always known this, it is something you learn in 5th grade sunday school.

but when i read someone else who was struggling with that, it hit home.

he continued...

i could go through the motions for a while, but sooner or later my heart would testify to its true love: darkness. then i would get up and try again. the cycle was dehumanizing.

another something reached deep into my soul while i was reading. after i read the words "dehumanizing" i thought about humanity. how many times to i blame things on humanity? on "this world we live in". i look for an excuse in my "human flesh" because we were simply "made like this."

but what an honor it is to be a human. we are the ONLY part of creation that has a direct relationship with God. we are the ONLY ones created in His image. what a great responsibility it is to be a human. miller wrote "i am a human because God made me. i experience suffering and temptation because man chose to follow satan. God is reaching out to me to rescue me".

and that only happens for humans. God did not send His one and only son to die on the cross for the sins of the trees. or the dirt. or even the birds. but for ALL OF MAN.

HUMAN. us.

it hit home with me. so many times i complain. and blame. but i should be thankful for the fact that God decided to create me. in order that i could worship and glorify Him.

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tomorrow is my comprehensive test for journalism. i aced yesterday's, which was super exciting! so i am going to study for that... until tomorrow