Boy oh boy, JUNE

(This is mostly a post to indicate that I haven't abandoned this blog and that I WILL be blogging in July.)

So, June happened. Dear lord.

I've been absent from this blog because to say my month has been busy would be an understatement. First, my boyfriend Josh visited. Immediately thereafter, my parents visited. I had a few days to myself, and then my brother Thomas and two of his friends visited (yes, there were four people in my tiny apartment for a couple days. It was crowded, but everything went fine).

The news went crazy. Especially in Florida.

Oh, and in between all of that, I celebrated my 25th birthday.

... By feeding a giraffe.

... And eating bread pudding that tasted like whiskey.

There was drinking. Lots of drinking.

I also did a thing with my hair, and crossed an item off my to-do list!

I look tired in this picture BECAUSE I AM!!

So yes, it's been quite a month.

I wreaked havoc on my body this month with alcohol (I may or may not have done a keg stand ...). So I've decided that I am NOT drinking more than one drink at a time for the month of July, and I'm also not going to drink on weeknights.

Have you ever woken up from a drunken stupor with a headache, and notice that your sunglasses are missing and your phone has new cracks/scratches on it? It's kind of funny the first time it happens. And then it gets way old.

My goals for July are threefold: Get adequate sleep, eat healthier and exercise regularly. I have made these goals time and time again, but it never hurts to set them again. They are lifelong pursuits for me.

I'm going to end this post with a video my brother made that YOU MUST WATCH. Earlier this year, Thomas took a trip around the world -- Japan, Hong Kong, Amsterdam, Germany, Czech Republic, Finland ... Uh ... I might be missing a couple. He took video everywhere he went, and compiled it all into a music video. The first time I watched it I nearly cried because of how good it is.

Hi.

Hi everyone.

I'm long overdue for a new post, and I haven't written a "week in review" in a couple weeks. I have one partly typed up that I was going to post today. But in light of two back-to-back shootings in Orlando, one of which is now the most deadly shooting in United States history, I don't feel like making a light-hearted post on here.

Donate blood. Give money. If praying is your thing, then pray for everyone involved -- The souls of the deceased, their family and friends, the first responders.

Hold your loved ones close. Appreciate them. Try to see the good in everything.

As mass shootings/killing sprees have become more and more common, I've tried to let go of petty, negative feelings. The world can be so unpredictable. I'd rather spend my life being happy and seeing the beauty in the world than complaining and being needlessly negative.

This was written as a response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. I revisited it today.

Where was God on September 11?

(God explains)

“I know you’re mad at Me right now. That’s alright. People have been mad at Me before and will be again. Being mad is part of being human. My Son got mad, too. It’s all right to be mad sometimes at injustice, for example, or the lack of charity.”

“You probably think I am unjust and uncharitable when an airplane goes down like that. All those people lost. The children gone. It doesn’t seem right; it can’t be loving. You ask, ‘Where was God?’ Why did He allow that to happen?”

“I allow it to happen because I allow you freedom. I could have left you on a string and made you dance all day without getting tired. I could have moved your mouth for you and made you sing all night without growing hoarse. I could have pulled a wire that would have let you soar skyward and never fall.”

“I could have, but I didn’t because I love you so much. I want you to be free to decide when to dance and sing. Free to determine when you will come to Me in faith and hope. Because you are free, some of you choose not to dance or sing. Some of you select hatred over love, revenge over forgiveness, bombs over a helping hand. As you choose, I watch. I do not disappear. I listen to both the songs and the bombs. AND I REMEMBER.”

“Where was God?” you wonder…I was there. I whispered in the ear of a little girl, ‘Don’t be afraid, I am with you.’ I held the hand of a business woman as tightly as she clutched mine. I cradled a pilot against my shoulder as if he were a baby again.”

“Amid the paralyzing fear, I was there, as I was there with my Son in the garden. Amid the unbearable pain, I was there, as I was with Him as He was whipped. Amid the terrible realization that life was ending too soon, I was there, with Him as He hung on the cross and asked, like you, “My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

“I had not forsaken Him. I did not forsake them. I was there as they fell, and as they rose to eternal joy. I listened to their anger, answered their questions and showed them why they had been created. Not to end that way, but to live with Me forever.”

“In an instant, they came into existence. As you did. In an instant, they left this world. As you will. But beyond that last instant, I kept my promise… A little girl dances, a business woman sings, and a pilot keeps his wings forever.”