Insight to Wisdom

"If you are wise
and understand God's ways,
live a life of steady goodness
so that only good deeds will pour forth.

AND if you don't brag about the GOOD you do,
then
you will truly be wise!

But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition
in your hearts, don't brag about being wise.

That is the worst kind of lie.

For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom.

Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivaed
by
the DEVIL.


For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find
DISORDER and EVERY kind of evil.

BUT the wisdom that comes FROM heaven
is first of all Pure.

It is also Peace Loving,
Gentle at all times,

and WILLING to Yield to others.

It is full of Mercy AND Good Deeds.

It shows NO partiality and is always Sincere.

And those who are peacemakers will plant
SEEDS of Peace
AND
Reap a harvest of goodness."





James 3:13-18.

Characteristics of Texas

So here are some pictures to make up for the lack thereof in yesterday's post.

Some characteristics that I have observed in Texas thus far consist of, but are not limited to, the following:

Weird animals habits:

Letting a gecko inside.

Random souvenirs:

Shark in a bottle.
Random accessories:
Toilet shades.

Random vehicles:
A tall, tall, tall H2.

Also, not so random, but here are a couple pictures from Calvary Houston.
The sanctuary:

The coffee shop (which is legit):
Higher grounds (clever).

So tonight we had the midweek study at Calvary Houston, which was really good. It's weird to actually sit in a service. But I definitely needed it. :-)

After service we went out to eat again, even though we went to Sprinkles Frozen Yogurt before church, too. The after service choice was a Mexican restaurant called Luna's, which was actually pretty delicious! Reminds me of a more authentic El Torito. :-) Then everyone came over again to the Ryding house, where ping pong ensued for several hours. Since I figured I need to improve my ping pong skills anyway, I applied myself tonight and learned different spins to put on the ball. :-) Amy and I both needed to learn, so John taught me, then I taught Amy. Amy and I played for a while just trying out different spins and returns...it was fun! It's very relaxed and laid back this week, which is great!

Josh got off the next couple days, so even though we've pulled some late nights, we're gonna hit "the town" and see if we can't find something to do tomorrow. :-)

God's really blessed me so far here with some good time of restoration and I feel really refreshed - it's amazing!

And finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE!!! He's 14 today! AND he got called up to play on the Varsity team this weekend!! Woohoo!! I'm so proud of you!!

Plenty Fer Ya'll To Read

Well I'm spending a week in Texas with my wonderful family - Aunt, Uncle, and three cousins, the Rydings.
I grew up with them and I'm so happy to be spending some quality time with them for a week here in Houston. I got in yesterday after some flight delays and stuff, and went straight to Calvary Houston to lead worship with Josh for their service called "Overflow." It was phenomenal and an awesome blessing for me to be a part of it. Since then, I feel like I'm just a part of their group here. Everyone at their church is extremely welcoming and extremely nice. They have made me feel right at home and pretty much accepted me just as another Ryding family member. Last night we went out to dinner with everyone afterward, just like we tend to do at Ocean Hills, except we stayed until about midnight, then headed home.

Their house is so gorgeous...the carpet is my favorite. :)

Today we mostly just spent the day here at the house hanging out...I got to talk a lot with Sam and my aunt Mae, and somewhat Chris too. We just got to catch up and chat and have fun and relax. It was fun!

Later on Sam, Josh, me, and their friend J.R. went to Galveston Island, which is their beach. Quite different from our beach, but we had a good time looking around in a little souvenir shop, just hanging out. The whole town is still kind of devastated from hurricane Ike, which came through about 9 months ago, so there were some piers apparently in Galveston that are not there anymore.

So then tonight four of the guys from their church came over, and we all just hung out in the loft upstairs playing ping pong, watching videos and stuff, and just chatting. It was a lot of fun! I feel like I know them better than some of my own friends at home. Weird. But I feel great about it and I'm excited to be here for a while longer!

Blast From The Past

So obviously I'm a slacker. No posts for the last few months means one recap post...with a lot of pictures of course.

I DID get to go to New York for the first time after school got out...I went with school, specifically to sing at the Lincoln Center, which was quite an awesome experience. :-)

This is the skyline seen from the Top of the Rock!

Found an awesome Candy shop with fun wallpaper...haha

Also I found a little bit of my wild side as we walked down the street....

A couple weeks ago, Sarah Brown and I (pictured here) and my mom and Lindsey and Kennady went to Pasadena to take part in the American Idol tryouts held at the Rose Bowl. After waiting there at the Rose Bowl for 12 hours, Lindsey, Kennady, and I auditioned. Though we didn't make it through, we had a great experience with many shared laughs...I took some awesome videos, which...if I get permission then maybe I'll upload those up. :-)

Aside from that, it's summer! I'm leaving on Monday for Houston to go visit my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins, and also to experience the dead summer heat of Texas. :-) I'm really excited to lead worship with my cousin Josh at Calvary Houston, and Samantha has promised me the best ice cream ever, so I think it'll be a fun trip. :-)

A lot of the high school kids and leaders are gone to Costa Rica right now, too, so this Sunday I'm really excited to speak at Frequency...I'm speaking on wisdom! It's been really neat to study James 3:13-18. Go read it if you get a chance. Or...just make the chance. haha!

And finally, Bailey's bridal shower is tomorrow!!! Wooo!! Bat and I have been brainstorming and working hard to shop for sweet party stuff at a cheap price...and keeping each other in check when we want to buy something frivolous. :-D

A Small Feat

Ever have one of those "ah" moments? Like a moment where you're just caught so off guard that you have to stop and think about what just happened?
Yes, I experienced one of those moments yesterday with about 25 or more of my peers in class. Professor Austring, during his lecture, decided to draw a circle on the whiteboard to demonstrate a valuable lesson, and...to all of our surprise, the circle was nearly perfect. Let's read that again....nearly perfect. If you were previously unaware, circles are extremely difficult to draw on a flat surface, let alone a whiteboard. According to Professor Austring, is skills can be attributed to endless doodling.
I realize the circle is nearly impossible to see due to my low-quality phone-camera shot, but I thought I would do my best to share the moment. I suggest clicking on the image below and trying hard to focus in on the black line....


Hopefully you can find it as entertaining and "ahh"ing as we all did in class.

Time Out!

Time Machine, anyone?

That's what Anika asked for earlier today, and I started thinking, actually...I would love it if time could just stand still. If I could do an hour's worth of work/play/fun/life and not lose any time. How glorious would that be? Or if time could just slow....I could do an hour's worth of life in maybe only 15 minutes. What a fabulous thought.

Ah yes, but unfortunately God has called us to live in this time zone, and I am currently just about pooped. Actually....I am. When I stop and think about it, I think...holy cow, what in the world is going on around me? I feel like I'm barely keeping up with the things that I want to do because of other obligations. What a tragedy! Is this what life is about? Going, doing, making, participating, collaborating....separately they're all great, but man. Everything at once is just getting to me. I feel that Jesus should return soon. Like tomorrow, before I have to give an oral presentation that I'm totally unprepared for. Tiny things like that...I just have no motivation for because I'm exhausted.

But tonight I started thinking...okay, it's only a season. It's only a season.

So....since it's only a season...I decided to share with you all a little girly thing about me since I don't often have indulgent moments. Now mind you I did not purchase these but I coveted a little in my heart. Believe it or not, I just like heels. I just like them. I don't wear them often because I can't be diverse in them and flexible and I can't run as well and...they don't really go with most of my clothes because I'm mostly casual. BUT I like them. They make me feel tall. And I think they're just fun to walk in. Anyways, I saw these beauties at Target and almost purchased them until I thought..."Bri, we're in a recession. You clearly do not need those." So I settled for a picture.




Also, I am pleased with the American Idol results that were displayed tonight. I feel they are just.

And...Billy and I are visiting his parents next weekend, maybe a break to this never ending rat race? :-) Sounds fabulous.

The Weekend Goes Green

The Weekend.

Such powerful words.

This year, the weekend went green, complete with a "Recycla-Bowl," which consisted of Dumpster Diving, of course, and other various recycling/trash themes throughout the events.

This year, I led a team with Billy, BrettSchorr.com, Sarah, and Nikki! Woot!

Our team name: "The G's"

Our theme: Gangsta Geeks

Below you have the privelege of seeing a vital part of our wardrobe - BLING. I found this specimen for Billy to wear....he'll keep it for life.

That's right. It was awesome. Our skit/cheer can be seen at http://www.frequencyoc.com/.

Unfortunately, we did not have the joy and accolades that come along with winning because...we didn't win. The winning team was titled "The Teetah Tribe," which...as you might imagine was complete with cannibals, hair-raising shrills, wild animals, and face paint. Kind of insane. But props to them for going all out!

Above is a picture taken during our night of worship/concert....it's times like these when I realize, hey, this is why I love being a leader. When everything else goes away - the competitions, the cliques, the shyness....it all melts away when our students come before the Lord and just pour their hearts out. What an amazing thing to be part of their lives. I absolutely love it!!!

This beauty is named Hyda. She is the beloved pet of the Brown family, who so graciously housed us girls....just thought I would share her joyous face with you all. Haha!!!

Anyways, just wanted to give a little update!!! Only have three weeks left of school! Hallelujah!