Justice

I was reading through my twitter feed when I came across this article via Compassion. IJM (International Justice Mission) is a cause that has recently broken my heart. And this article- just sealed the deal. You see, tonight while I am watching The Bachelor with my roommates, there are one million children that are sitting in detention centers waiting to go to trial, most for minor offences. Nearly two million children are being exploited in the commercial sex industry. Twenty-seven million people are trapped in modern day slavery. Over 50 percent of these slaves are children. And yet- here I am. Sitting in my dorm room. Comfortable. Wasting time by watching The Bachelor. And yet--there is something more. There are women and children living outside these walls that are being forced to do horrible things. While I'd like to imagine it only is happening in third-world countries- it's happening here in the US, too. It's just not as accepted here. When people get caught, they go to jail.

But in other places around the world, the governments are far more corrupt than Washington. Even when cases are filed and the law enforcement try and send someone to jail- there aren't enough prosecutors to cover the cases. According to one source, it would take 350 years for Mumbai, India to catch up on the court backlog in their books. We need to work on helping these governments fix the corruption problem and help strengthen legal protections for the poorer people of the world.  IJM says, "We can no longer stand by as billions in this world are daily ravaged by lawlessness. Without functioning public justice systems we will never make human rights meaningful and international development sustainable."


And that, my dears, is my plea for you guys to join in on this advocacy journey. One easy way: HERE. IJM is trying to get 25,000 signatures on a petition to send to President Obama to help fight modern day slavery. If we get enraged about what happened all those years ago in America, why can we not get enraged about what is happening right now?

Project Life: Week 4

So, I have a picture for Saturday. I promise. But, I took it with Mom's camera, so it's on her computer because I forgot to grab it this weekend when I went home. Oh, well. Maybe next week? So, this week is going to start on Sunday (for my blog. My scrapbook will have Saturday's potato cannon picture in it!)

Since I really don't want to post three times in one day (that would get a little annoying, right?), I figured I would post my last bit of business at the bottom of this post. There's a sweet mama-to-be at my church (well, she's already got one precious little girl, but she's expecting her second in a few weeks) that I wanted to make something for. I've been wanting to make a baby blanket/baby quilt for-ev-er now, so I decided to make one! Since the little one's name starts with an "A", I decided a small monogram at the bottom would be sweet! The back of the blanket/quilt is a pink zebra printed flannel and I think it is oh-so-very CUTE! :)

Last Week

Believe it or not, last week was quite busy. I'm still working on editing my Project Life pictures, but that post should be up later tonight. While going through those pictures, I found my "What I'm Wearing This Week" pictures. Some were for PL, others just for fun. I thought I would share some now since I forgot to earlier in the week!

Monday:

 Shirt: Gap

Cardigan: Target

Skirt: Made by Me (See this post)

Thursday:

 Shirt: Ralph Lauren

Jeans: Old Navy

Sunday:

Cardigan: New York and Co.

Tunic: J.Crew

Jeans: Banana Republic

And that is what I've worn this past week (minus the four days I didn't take pictures!)

link love.

• This family just moved to Peru to work with an organization called Krochet Kids, which works to empower women in poor countries by teaching them to crochet hats and stuff. :)
• These adorable hair flowers. I totally ordered one this morning. I need to quit this online shopping thing until I find me a paid internship. But- the money does go to an adoption fund...so all for a good cause, right?
• Sweet Nella's first birthday. Seriously, can I have a 21st birthday bash like this? I just love the colors (and especially those pinwheels and the cake...presh). I think I'm going to go into event planning so that I can plan parties for a living. That would be fun, right?
• I think this is going to be my summer project. I have a comforter already....but it would be nice for a little change for next fall! And since it's just a cover, I can always change it. Yay!

And that's all for now. Yay!

one of those days...

It's been a rough day. First of all, it's a Tuesday, which means I have 3 classes. Two during the lunch hour, which means I can't eat at the DH (which isn't all together a bad thing). Add on an intermittent internet connection, online homework website not wanting to load, and a paper that just doesn't sound right and you have a rough day. Around six o'clock, I realized that it wasn't going anywhere and I was just getting frustrated. So, I decided I needed frozen yogurt. And since I really really wanted the brownie bits and cookie dough chunks, I decided a trip to the frozen yogurt shop was long overdue. It was totally worth the splurge. I now feel happier. :)
Add in a little Francis Chan and Kristian Stanfill...and my day got a little better (thank you Passion All Access Pass!). I think I'm going to listen to a little Ben Stuart and call it a night. 


Throughout this rough day, I've been repeating the chorus to a certain song in my head. I thought I would share in case anyone else is having one of those days.

And this is Your world, You made it

And all of creation is breathing because You sustain it

Jesus, by Your powerful word, You spoke out the earth and the heavens

So I will not worry or fret

My God is the God who will never forget

All of His goodness and all of His promises

He's holding my world in His hands

And these are your days, You give them

All for your fame and all for Your glorious kingdom

Jesus, You have ordained all things to dwell in Your purpose

So I will not worry or fret

My God is the God who will never forget

All of His goodness and all of His promises

He's holding my world in His hands

And I am Your child, Beloved

And all of my days my future is laid in Your promise

Jesus, to the end of the age, I am not alone of forgotten

So I will not worry or fret

My God is the God who will never forget

All of His goodness and all of His promises

He's holding my world

So I will not worry or fret

My God is the God who will never forget

All of His goodness and all of His promises

He's holding my world in His hands

Notable News

So what? I'm a toal news junkie. I love reading the news. I mean, I check Google News more than I do Facebook now (Uh, oh!). So I thought I'd post some recent stories and what I thought about them.

• Oprah Finds Long Lost Half Sister. I'm for real, yall. This sounds like something that would happen on, well, Oprah...and now the lady's gone and done it herself. I have to admit to laughing when I first read the headline. Then I happy cried a little over the reunion. I mean, come on. Everyone loves a long-lost reunion!
• Rahm Declared Ineligible to Run For Mayor. Sorry Charlie (well, Rahm). You really should have known that if you don't live in the city for the year, you can't really run to be it's mayor. I mean, this is Chicago. Someone was going to challenge you. It has to really stink knowing you could still be sitting in the White House right now. I mean, your BFF Barack is really partying it up without you. Now, you're stuck in Chi-town without a mayoral position to run for. Sorry dude, you can't always get what you want. It's not really as much of a surprise as you think it is. Move on. Tough nubs (as Desi would say).
• China Decides to Go to the Moon. Um, China? We (the US of A) did that back in the 60s. As in 1960's. Going to the moon is old news.Maybe if you announce that you're sending a man to Mars, we'll take note. But, Mr. Obama? See this as proof that you really don't want to get rid of NASA. I mean, yes, it's old news. But China has pretty much become a beast over the years. And because of all the loans we owe them...we really don't need them getting ahead of us in something else. I know you like all their socialism and all...but I don't. Okay? Okay.
• Credit Cards Aren't Cool Anymore. In an age where we care so little about security, companies like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon are making money by making it possible to pay using your smartphone, instead of a credit card.  It's called "bumping". And apparently, it's all the rage. But, I think that this is just one example about how we are becoming too dependent on our smartphones. I'm just thinking it would be way too easy for someone to hack into the system and make a bunch of charges on your account. Easier than a credit card at least.

And that is Notable News with Lauren. (Don't you wish you had me around to write your current events paper?). Haha. :)

Compassion Child Update

I haven't written about my sponsored child on here in awhile. Partially because I've forgotten to scan in the letters. But, when I got my Christmas update from Sandra, I decided I should post the updated news.

Sweet Sandra is now seven years old. (She had a birthday in September). Pictured below is the updated picture I received. I think she looks so grown up now! :)

I also got this sweet Christmas message from her.

And I got a letter from her tutor (since she's not really old enough to write the letter by herself). In it, she tells me about how she is on vacation (I think it's summer down there) and how she wants me to pray for her studies in the next year. She ends the note by sending me hugs and saying goodbye. Oh- and wishing me a Merry Christmas. :)

If you are interested in sponsoring a child, I encourage you to to go to Compassion International and pick out a waiting child to sponsor today! Click the banner below for more information. :)

Help a Child

Project Life: Week 3

Sorry this is a little late. Something called the weekend held me up a bit. :)

My craftiness overtook me and I pulled out the sewing machine to make this. :)

Having no oven in the dorm means baking brownies while at home for MLK day!

Since I finally had enough hangers, my clothes are all hung up. Pretty.

This is my Project Life setup. Excuse the messy bed. I know, it's legit. :)

Fried Chicken Thursday is pretty much the only meal I like at the DH.

I discovered this cute little reading room in the library. Much adventures to be had. 

And that...was my week. :)

Dialects with Lauren

Since my dear blog friend Annie did this wonderful post (well, vlog) on dialects and it looked so fun, I knew I had to do it too. I mean, I love dialects. They're fun and fascinating.


And well...I had to tell Annie how those bubby beverages are called Coke. Not pop. Or soda. That just sounds...well...Northern. (Well, I guess Michigan is in the North. So, I guess you get a free pass on that one!)





And now, if you want to do your own (which you should because it's really fun and silly!) Here are the words and questions. Just make sure you comment so I can go check yours out! :)


words: aunt, route, wash, oil, theater, iron, salmon, caramel, fire, water, sure, data, ruin, crayon, toilet, new orleans, pecan, both, again, probably, spitting image, alabama, lawyer, coupon, mayonnaise, syrup, pajamas, caught

questions:
{one} what is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
{two} what is the bug that curls into a ball when you touch it?
{three} what is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
{four} what do you call gym shoes?
{five} what do you say to address a group of people?
{six} what do you call a spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
{seven} what do you call your grandparents?
{eight} what do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
{nine} what do you call it when it rains while the sun is shining?
{ten} what is the thing with which you change the tv channel?

paper-writing playlist.

Okay. Semester's started. Already on essay 2...and...it's official.
I've made myself a Paper-Writing Playlist.
Procrastination at it's finest.
But, it's pretty effective if I say so myself.... :)

Something in the Water- Brooke Fraser
Light up the Sky- The Afters
Here Comes the Sun- The Beetles
God of the City- Chris Tomlin
MMMBop- Hanson
The Only Exception- Glee
I'm Yours- Jason Mraz
Baby- Justin Bieber (Don't. Make. Fun.)
Sunshine- Matt Costa
Fireflies- Owl City
Fearless- Taylor Swift
Hey, Soul Sister- Train

Call me random...but I'm going to make a check-plus on this paper. Just watch. :)

image via

Project Life: Week 2

We've reached Week 2 of 2011.

And Lauren is still alive. :)

School has gone really good. I'm excited about the adventures that this semester is going to bring.

Now, I wasn't going to do a commentary, so don't expect one every week, but some of these pictures? Need explanation. 

(This is the shower knob as it was last Saturday. This is what happens when you share a shower with 2 boys aged 9 and 13. I'm happy to report it is all fixed now, thanks to my Daddy. I just thought that the temporary solution was funny- and more than a little redneck.)

(Self portrait of the week. I mean, if I'm going to go to the effort to dress cute- It's going to get photographed!)

(I went bowling with group of people from college. It was pretty fun, even thought I'm pretty horrible at the sport!)

(Yay for first college essays of the semester?)

(The schedule. But, please don't try to stalk me down. That would be simply creep-o)

whoa, second day.

I feel like I've been insanely lazy since this cold weather has moved in. I mean, I'm working on my school work and all (because I have professors that assign papers due the second day of class...*sigh*). But, I have absolutely no desire to leave my room and wander around campus. I'm not even wanting to walk to the dining hall. Ridiculous.

And reading this little book called Asking the Right Questions (insanely expensive little book, mind you. 40 bucks for a 176 page book.) doesn't make my day better. It's quite boring. And I have to read 2 chapters by Friday. Along with writing a summary of an article about food stamps. Though, reading this story by Joel Chandler Harris was pretty funny. Especially when you're all alone in your dorm room, so you read it aloud in a super southern accent. Everything sounds better that way. :)

Positive note: I got mail today. I got a letter from Sandra with a new picture of my sweet child. When I go home this weekend, I'm going to scan it in. Because 'yall, she's so precious that I just have to share her with you. She also colored me a cute Christmas picture. I also got a letter from my sweet little cousin Natalie that makes me feel extremely confident in our U.S. Postal Service. If they can get this sweet child's letter with the wrong zip code and my city spelled as a 6 year old would (which I can't hold against her. it's pretty hard to spell).

In addition, if you haven't heard (like, if you fell of the planet or something), Auburn won the National Championship. Um, yes. War Eagle. Can I say heart attack. For real, most stressful game of my life. I'm not going to go on and on about it (because I don't want to annoy anyone), but I'm pretty happy. And, since we live in the great state of Alabama, the trophy is going on a tour of Walmarts this weekend. Oh darn. I can't make fun of people from the other side of the state anymore about that. :)

Now, I've got a few math problems left that need to be done before tomorrow. And then, I might just change into my jammies, crawl under my covers, and read a good book. After all, I am a college student. And it is cold outside. But, I'll probably finish listening to this Mr. David Platt podcast I'm listening to. :)

what i'm wearing...tuesday.

I follow several bloggers that do what's called "What I'm Wearing Wednesday". Which is a cute idea and all. If you dress cute on Wednesdays. Seeing as I don't tend to plan on dressing cute until, I, um, dress cute, I decided I should follow an altogether different approach. Also, seeing as I'm not exactly a fashionista...or anything close to a fashion blogger...don't expect this to be a regular feature. It will be saved for days like today.

First Day of School. Spring Semester 2011. New College. New Major.
Um, yes. I think this deserved a cute outfit.
Hence the awkward door mirror pictures. I'm a tad too tall.

 Dorm lighting isn't the most conducive to a photoshoot, either. Oops. :)

Shirt: Ann Taylor Loft

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Ugg Austrailia

Hairband: Target

something new.

So...I'm all moved in! Yay!

Classes were supposed to start today, but due to the "winter storm" they were postponed until tomorrow. This "'winter storm" that was supposed to cause ice and snow. And yet...did...nothing. Alabama tends to overreact on these things. And while I'm glad for a little downtime, part of me wants to just get into the swing of things. I'm just ready to figure all of this out and meet new people and all. This semester, I'm taking Math for Natural Sciences, Survey of Old Testament, Practicing the Art of Critical Thinking, Quantitative Methods (basically a Stats class), and American Lit 2. 15 hours shouldn't be that hard, right?

I've figured out how to eat at the dining hall (swipe your card, go through the line...and the food is pretty gross. Just saying). And I know where the laundry/ice/trash room is. And...now I'm just hanging out in the room. Hopefully it will get a little more exciting and busy as the semester unfolds. :)

Another item of note. Annie asked on my last post about these changes in my life. I don't remember if I've posted all of this before, but I have transfered to Huntingdon College in Montgomery. It's a small Methodist liberal arts private college. I also have changed my major to Business. So, yeah! Fun changes. :)

Project Life: Week 1

A Picture A Day.
Project 365.
Project Life.

Whatever you call it, I'm doing it. Rather than post a picture every day (because, honestly, I'm going to forget and have to play around with things), I'm posting 7 pictures each week. The goal is to have one picture represent each day. But, as we all know, life sometimes gets in the way of that. So, we're sticking with the goal, but I'm not being too serious about it. I am also trying to get one self-portrait/mirror pic/myspace picture/a picture with me in it a week-ish. I think it would be cool to see how I change throughout the year.

I'm putting my pictures in a binder like this, but I thought it would be fun to post them on here too. I mean, I know you guys all stalk this blog and are absolutely fascinated with my life, right? Haha. I know, I'm so exciting. :)

I'm doing my format a little different than some people. Since the first fell on a Saturday, that's when my week is beginning. It feels a little silly, since I think of Saturday as the last day of the week...but it's the easiest.

And so we have Week 1. Obviously, to me at least, it ended yesterday. 51 more weeks to go! :)

do something now.

Things I'm Liking...

And these are the things that I'm liking right now. My faves. You get the idea.

• This blog post about church growth and where our priorities are at.
• Brooke Fraser. I just discovered her (apart from Hillsong) yesterday-ish. And can I say something? I'm in love with her music. Ahem, like these songs.

• And this. It's a bit theological-smart people-ish. But, if you can wade through the essay, it's a good read.
• This sweet baby boy had surgery today. Keep him in your prayers.
  
  

•  I am doing Project Life this year. I'm doing it a little different than most people (goal of 7 photos a week instead of a photo everyday). I'm really excited an just got the pages all put in and such. I plan on posting the pictures on Saturdays. So, yeah. Trying to simplify scrapbooking a little.
• This video is amazing. It's Passion. It's Jesus.

In other news, I'm packing! Well, actually I'm taking a break right now...but I was packing. I move into my new dorm sometime between tomorrow and Sunday. Scary, right? Yeah. That's what I'm thinking, too. I have a roommate. I don't know much (well, anything) about her...but I'm trusting God and that he will work all that out! :)

open the heavens.

I'm home from an exciting and incredible weekend plus two days in Atlanta at Passion 2011. It was an amazing experience that I am so..so..excited about. I'm going to start by encouraging all of you all that are college aged to try and make plans to attend next year. It's going to be at the Georgia Dome, so like 70,000 of us will be able to gather together to make His name known. It's time to be a generation that rises up to bring glory to the creator of the universe.

Obviously, I'm still processing it all, and I'm quite tired, so I'm going to go into more details a little at a time (as in, when I figure this all out). But, this weekend was so powerful and really made me think about what I'm doing in my life and where God might be leading me.

It's ridiculous how incredibly blessed we are. Here in America (at least in the Southern part of the country commonly referred to as the Bible Belt) it is so easy to say we're Christians. Yet, we fail -I fail- to bring glory to the name of Jesus on a frequent basis. We complain about things that don't really matter. We make a fuss about the style of worship our churches have and the speakers that we ask to preach. We get so caught up in this "consume, consume" culture that we forget about the whole "making disciples" thing. We get caught up in this spirit of entitlement. I mean, the world tells us we deserve all of this nice stuff. We deserve to have an easy life. We deserve to have fun. We deserve to not have to do anything too far out of our comfort zone. But, God calls us to life a life that is radically different. Here's the thing. We aren't entitled to any of this. Because we have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, all we are entitled to is eternal separation.  All we deserve is to be separated from God for all eternity. This spirit of entitlement pervades our generation. It encouraged us to want "more, more, more" when we really need "less, less, less". We need to be less so that God can be more. Only through Christ we can get rid of this spirit of entitlement. It's not going to be easy. And I so don't have all the answers. It's something I struggle with all the time. As one of the speakers at Passion (Ben Stuart) says, "You think about what you care about and what you care about you chase." If all we think about is all the stuff that we think we deserve, all we're going to do is chase those worldly desires. Those desires won't fulfill us and won't make us happy. We may think we're happy- but ultimately we're going to have that little feeling that we're missing something. It's only when we allow God to completely empty ourselves so that He can fill us up (rather than our "desires") that we find true fulfillment and happiness. It's only then that we are made complete and content.

So. That's just a snippet of what God's speaking to me through the messages I've heard these last four days. I've got more but..I'm still wading through the waters. It's some tough stuff. It's not easy. And, I know I can't do it alone. Only with God can I find this contentment and rid myself of this spirit of entitlement. But, I know that there's something better out there than what I've got...and, well, I'm ready. :)

Come Jesus.
Open the Heavens. Come Living Water. All my fountains are in YOU.

Title: Chris Tomlin. I'm not real sure of the title of the song because, well, we sang it at Passion. But, I'm pretty sure it'll be on the CD that comes out in March! And, well, there's always YouTube. Pictures from here. Mine are still on my phone. Haha. And they're nowhere near as pretty. That's what happens when only Passion Media Staff can have fancy-smancy cameras in the arena. :)

new year.

Happy 2011!

That feels really weird to say because I'm actually writing this in 2010. It's just, I have to leave in the morning (January 1st) and wanted to make sure I could do this little post.

It's a new year. We're all making goals (and well, resolutions) and I need to update you on one of mine. As I said in a previous post, I'm participating in Beth's Siesta Scripture Memory Team. I've got my cute spiral notebook and my first verse- so I'm sharing.

2011 is the year of Change. There's things in my life that are changing. Colleges. Major. And me. I'm wanting to grow deeper in love with my Creator. Step One is Getting in the Word. And, so, I am memorizing Zephaniah 3:17 as my first verse.

"The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

I'm going to be gone to the Passion Conference in Atlanta for a few days, so I won't be blogging. But, I'm waiting expectantly for God to use the speakers, worship leaders, and my friends to lead me closer in my walk toward Him. I know that the God I serve is mighty to save...and I'm really excited about what's going to go down in these next 4 days. If you're not going, you can go here and  view a live stream of the conference (It's actually delayed about 4 hours from what's really happening).


Yay! I'm excited. I'm sure I'll have loads to post about when I get back home! :)