laughing with zach and God

sense of humor is a funny thing. ha. literally. but really, it amuses me to no end. how does everyone aquire their sense of humor? one of my favorite funny-men is zach galifianakis. i really liked his interview in rolling stone ...

“I saw that Ke$ha woman the other day,” he says. She’d e-mailed him about getting a drink, and a few days later, he ran into her in a bar. “She was sitting by herself, and I walked up to her and said, ‘Listen, I got your e-mail. Your music is really bad! I don’t know who listens to it, but I imagine it’s, like, six-year-olds – and it’s a bad message.’ ” [rolling stone july 2011]

i couldn't agree more zach g.

he also mentions that when little kids tell him they loved the hangover he tells them they have terrible parents - and he means it.

not only was the rest of the interview hilarious, but it confirmed a little theory that i have.

i believe that some of the funniest people have endured the greatest pain. their ability to make people laugh can be a defense mechanism, and sometimes such a stealthy one that their pain goes unnoticed. funny people seem to live with a greater awareness of everything that is going on around them, and their ability to read people and situations enables them to be extra funny.

a friend shot this theory down awhile ago, but i think zach g might agree with me. he dislikes fame and has struggled with depression. he did a stand-up bit once discussing the fragility of the human psyche and how he thinks that all comedians are slightly mentally ill. he told rolling stone about the temptation to do movies not because that's what he really wants, but because they can act as a means to a greater end.

"if galifianakis is hesitant to open up too much about this, it's probably because he worries about sounding too angelina - like he'd cheapen what he really cares bout by making it into a thing. "honestly," he says. "if i could talk about what means the most to me in life and stuff, i would. eventually that's what i want to talk about. but i don't know if i can yet, it's hard." hard why? he rubs his head again. "because it's not jokes."" [rolling stone july 2011]

i hope he can start talking about what really means the most to him. i hope everyone can do that. when someone makes me laugh i automatically admire them and become more open to whatever they have to say. when people don't understand my own humor i tend to shut down. if they can't understand what makes me laugh, how could they ever understand what makes my heart ache?

"if you don't live out who you are, the world will never see that part of God. that's how diverse God is." [eric johnson] you represent a part of God that no one else can. no matter what anyone can say or do to us, our identity in Him is unshakable. so just be you! no one else can! even your sense of humor represents a facet of God that no one else can.

i just listened to mark driscoll's sermon on luke 18:18-30, regarding Jesus on money, idolatry and comedy. i don't think i've ever heard a sermon specifically addressing comedy, and apparently i'm not the only one because driscoll points out that of the 17,000 books on Jesus in the library of congress catalog, there is only one on the humor of Jesus.

might have something to do with religious people not being the funniest blokes on the block, or taking themselves too seriously. might have something to do with humor being too great to capture in a book. what do you think?

driscoll disagrees with those who hypothesize that Jesus wasn't a funny guy. david elton trueblood authored "the humor of christ," the one in 17,000 books about the humor of Jesus, writing it specifically to challenge the conventional picture of a Jesus who never laughed ...

"there are numerous passages that are practically incomprehensible when regarded as sober prose but which are illuminous once we become liberated from the gratuitous assumption that Christ never joked. once we realize that Christ was not always engaged in pious talk we have made an enormous step on the road of understanding."

driscoll said that if anyone in the pages of the Bible was a humorous person, it was Jesus. He was a master of wordplay, irony, satire and frequently mixed humor into his conversation.

my favorite exaltation from driscoll's message came at the very end when he said, "we laugh at ourselves or God laughs at us. if we laugh at ourselves we get to laugh with God." laughing is one of my most favorite feelings. pure bliss. it's like zach g said - "when you get that release of laughter, it's just the greatest thing in the world."

realize

i love places like that too. the pinnacle is one of those places for me.

for anyone not from lancaster, the pinnacle is a beautiful overlook spot down in the boonies where i grew up. my family spent a lot of time there and it holds a special place in my heart. you can sit on "the rock" and look out at the sprawling river and wooded hills. the sky feels closer. whenever i sit out there i guess i remember how small i am, how trivial my grievances really are in the long run (and in the short run), and how much bigger God is than anything else.

"On days we are feeling overwhelmed it's curious to ponder how God can know everyone and everything and not only keep up with it all but still patiently care."[Mark Driscoll]
the bad thing about the pinnacle is that too many people know about it now. it gets so crowded sometimes it bothers me. a few weeks ago i was there by myself on a weeknight and there was a group of kids at the rock (okay they were probably my age, why do i act like i'm 45, i don't know.) they were smoking, but i just sat down and did my own thing. they were playing music on their phones and just not appreciating the place like i felt that they should be, and i could gage their attention spans and knew they wouldn't be comfortable out in nature for too much longer. i was right, they soon left.

then a new group of kids my age rolled in, wearing dresses and heels. i was afraid for their life, if ever there was a place to NOT wear stilettos it's the pinnacle! they had a lengthy photo shoot, which again it's whatever. i like pictures, i do. but i have this quirky agitation with them as well. it's one thing to snap candids, but i feel like people get real carried away with the photo shoots. so you want pictures of yourselves decked out at prom or a wedding? sure. but pictures of yourselves decked out at the pinnacle? whatever happened to living in the moment?

in the midst of their shoot, we're all talking because they ago to Bible college and were saying 'wow what a great place to have devotions ...unless a bunch of people are taking pictures huh!' ... um, pretty much.

i'm laughing at myself because this shouldn't bother me so much, but it's funny that it does. it's just that sometimes people seem so afraid to spend time alone. or to just spend time with God just because. not because it's duty or "devotions." just because you want to.

after that fiasco i was like, i freaking can't go to the pinnacle to chill with Jesus anymore because there are TOO MANY PEOPLE! and then it's like God or someone who sounds a lot like Him in my head ;-) saying, 'really chelsea? too many people? they have a problem because they can't be alone with me? what about you? maybe you have a problem because you'd rather be alone with me than realize the value in every single person you meet ... because they all bear my image and my heart is flooded with love for each and every one of them like it is for you ... live a well balanced life my child! don't put limits on what it looks like to spend time with me. it doesn't always look the same, it doesn't have to be what other people tell you, but it also doesn't have to be what it's always been for you.'

hmm. lesson i'm learning. :-)

nonetheless, there is ANOTHER place i love to go for when i do need my introverted time with God. it's a place no one goes, with a beautiful view and every time i go i am refreshed and i wish i could tell you about this spot, but i can't. i'm too worried the cemetery i like to chill out in will fill up with people wanting to do photo shoots and smoke pot and talk to me when i want to be alone. HA.

nom nom nom

nom nom nom, life is delicious.

especially when it involves fresh blueberries ... grilled caesar salad and kobe burgers at the belvedere ... grilled steak ... warm chocolate chip cookies ... chicken wrapped in bacon on the grill ... double dunker ice cream by turkey hill ...

or when it has carmen & david's anything ice cream. i personally loved the lemon chocolate chip + coffee heath bar crunch sampler i had in the company of my dear friend regina. she drove up for the fourth to hang out for the weekend and it was wonderful. we caught the lititz fireworks, which are synchronized to music and boy did i feel proud and thankful to be an american.

another time i felt that so fiercely was when i watched fireworks in nottingham - redneck country. they had spectacular fireworks that included a full-fledged american flag in red, white and blue fireworks, live big band music and special recognition of everyone in the military. then one of the military boys proposed to his girlfriend on stage and that topped the whole night off.

i LOVE good engagement stories. i've been telling my friend ashley's like it's my own.. as soon as she told me and i stopped squealing i told her i will be telling EVERYONE because i loved it so much. she said she wished i lived in her state and could do it for her because she was tired of telling it already ha!

i love proposals so much that whenever i take trips i often pray that i will see someone get proposed to. (that and run into famous people.) i love watching it that much! there is just so much happiness and yes, i will even get extreeemely excited for complete strangers!

but back to fireworks. watching them in redneck country will really stir up your american pride. i shouldn't say you, because most people might not appreciate rednecks like i do. (i mean do you listen to charlie daniels "what this world needs is a few more rednecks?" at the gym?) and i don't always appreciate them - like today this morbidly obese woman was in the store ... had a tshirt with a giant hole in front of her tshirt so her stomach was just hanging out. she was more white trash than redneck though, in my head there's a difference. as she was leaving she said to her son, "we gotta get out of here, i'm starving. let's go see how much that chinese buffet costs."

keep in mind that this lady also ranted to me that she couldn't find any clothes that fit. (as if this was in any way shape or form my fault? almost as irritating as people who can't fit in booths at red lobster and yell at me. again, my fault completely ...) mind you, we do have an ample plus size section. and in the next sentence she is jonesing for some chinese? my coworker laughed and looked up and said, "i'm sorry God, but daaang. and you know what, i mean God's gotta be laughing at that too - cause He knows she ain't hungry."

i'm always curious about what God laughs at. what do you think makes God laugh? it's something i can't figure out. sure everyone jokes about 'God has to be laughing at me right now ...' but is He really? and then there is the cliche about God laughing when we make plans. that feels true. (but feelings do not define truth, so that's still iffy.) and what must His laughter sound like?

it sure seems like God would get in a good chuckle at Americans with overly filled stomachs moaning about their hunger. maybe He actually doesn't chuckle, maybe He weeps (i guess God cries?) cause He is watching His children down the street and all around the world dig through the trash for food or die from a lack of it.

i'm a major foody. i enjoy food to the max. (even when i typed 'max' it reminded me of max brenner chocolate - something you need to try in philly or nyc or whatever city is closest to you!) i am as "guilty" as the lady with her gut hanging out of her ripped tshirt. i get bratty when i'm hungry and think i have it so rough.

and it's not just with food that i get bratty, selfish, greedy and ungrateful. my days can easily fill up with complaints. none of which please the Lord. none of which bring Him glory or do anything positive for me or anyone else.

but i know that gratefulness and thanksgiving do. choosing to be aware of every good thing God has given to me and the perfect plan that He has for my life. thankful for the people in my life - amazing people of all ages and all around the country and world that i absolutely love. i am so blessed. thankful for my country and freedom. for my health and youth. for all the places i have traveled. for a job and the chance to go to college and a great brain that doesn't have to work as hard as some people. for my own car and my own computer. and this list just scratches the surface - that's how blessed i am.

i can't wait to be a mom and have my kids list off things they're thankful for. kids are so good at that, and it's fun to hear what they come up with. i mean all it took to make me happy when i was little was a 50-cent doughnut at the grocery store or a 25-cent can of soda at the mall. once again you can see my overzealous relationship with food as it plays a part in almost all of life's memories for me. (don't worry - i also found joy in spinning around in circles, rolling down hills, climbing trees, dance routines, swimming for hours and running laps around my yard pretending it was a track. and a million other things.)

'nom nom nom' is just a sound effect for DELICIOUS. one of my little cousins used to hum the whole time when he ate his food. it was so cute, you knew that he liked what he was eating. so speak out about what you like and what you're thankful for. there is such power in words and in gratitude.

thankfulness reminds us of God's presence in our lives, in our very being - and that puts anything anything else that may be troubling us to shame.


p.s. i'm sorry my posts are so long! i think i need to take up preaching haha, i just get on such a roll sometimes when i think about the Lord. who am i kidding, i get on such a roll when it comes to lots of things, but still ...

canoe camping

i had so much fun canoe camping all weekend with three awesome girls. talk about adventures. camping trips are a great way to get to know people and that's always fun. or at least i think so. hopefully other people aren't ready to stab me with their pocketknives by the end of a camping weekend with me. as i said on a super fun camping trip of the past - "when you're camping, that's who you are." agreed?

"unfortunately" i don't have any pictures. i didn't take my camera because i didn't want to ruin it in the river and i don't feel the need to remember how i look while camping. :-) it is a lot of fun going without mirrors for a weekend though.

something i like about myself is that i'm not afraid to ask for help. i actually prefer to ask for help and i like being told what to do. whether this is a youngest child thing or a laid-back personality or laziness i'm not sure, but it's me. when things go awry i don't hesitate to pray and ask for help.


i think the girls i was with are the type who prefer to tackle it all themselves. not me. which is funny, because one time a guy made a big deal about me being the kind of girl who can't accept help. he was way off. and when one of his friends offered his hand to me while we were hiking and i took it, he said, "oh chelsea's one of those girls who doesn't like help." which made no sense because i gladly took his friend's hand? there are plenty of bad things someone could say about me, sure, but not accepting help definitely isn't one of those things. i think he had a complex. ;-) and i wonder what gives anyone the idea that criticizing someone will make them like you? sorry buddy.

answered prayers for help this weekend:
1. building a fire. can i do this? probably. but do i hate lighting matches? yes. was i overjoyed when the head honcho from the mennonite troop camping across the field from us biked over and told us we could use their fire? yes. because i'm sure watching me gather a pathetic pile of damp twigs was downright painful for them to observe. what i lack in camping skills i totally make up for in my ability to look helpless and confused.

2. lifting the canoes on top of our cars at the end of the weekend. can i do this? yes, definitely. would i rather have a buff man do it for me? of course. so we are about the lift the first canoe up when somehow it fell and we all start laughing, and lo and behold two buff men come walking up from the river just in time to laugh at us and ask if we need help. i said "yes!" before anyone else could say no and they lifted our canoes for us. cha-ching.

and naturally i said, "did you guys see the snake that we killed?" referring to the BIGGEST dead rattlesnake we saw beside the river. the guys mouths dropped open in shock and awe, but i quickly told them i was juuust kidding. not feeling THAT empowered.

3. someone to change our flat tire. i must be a magnet for flat tires? these happen to me or people i travel with quite a bit. the other girls were about to change it, but i had still prayed someone would help us. and sure enough some nice dad pulled over and did it for us, telling us to get back against the guardrail before we got killed. so sweet.


i love camping. i love the camaraderie and the goodness i can see in every single person i meet while camping. i love nature and how beautiful it is, how it clears your mind and reminds you what's really important. i love the quiet, the peacefulness, the stars falling out of the sky, fireflies, swimming holes, the smell of the campfire and gooey golden marshmallows. i love how all of the food tastes amazing when you're camping. ("this is the best bacon ever!" "wow i'm having seconds of that ramen!" "i never knew orange juice from concentrate was so good!" -all direct quotes from this goober) oh and i love pretending to be pocahontas.

i love how camping makes me well up with american pride - what a beautiful and amazing country to live in! i'm sure i'll be all ushy gushy about this great country again next weekend when i watch fireworks. i am such a sap for america and the fourth of july has long been my favorite holiday. i'm truly thankful to live here and have such a good, good life.

girl crushes

girls having "girl crushes" is weird, but i'm telling you mine anyway. if for no other reason than to see if they change later. i wonder who i will look up to when i'm older? surely new favorites will emerge.

i saw three different women last week (all strangers mind you) who had great hair. all were at different stages of life and for each one i wanted to tell them they were beautiful and that i wanted my hair to look like that when i was that particular age. but i didn't because i was afraid that mentioning age might be offensive.

and when i posed the question of this questionable compliment to my friends they rolled their eyes and held me back because they thought i was going to say it to someone right there, and i said don't worry i won't say it. but i'll think it.

they told me it's best just to stop at "i like your hair." personally i think it would be meaningful for someone to say they aspire to be like me at my age. but for now i will listen to my friends and not tell any women i want to look like them when i'm old. ;-)

i'll figure out a way to spin it just right so that it's a golden compliment instead of a miscommunication zinger. sometimes you have to step out and be risky with your compliments to make a lasting impact. like instead of telling the lady at the deli that her sandwiches are good, i added that, "i have been looking forward to this ALL DAY." what was meant to be a compliment turned into a miscommunication by the look on her face indicating she thought i had a pathetic life and/or weight problem. so that was a risky compliment gone zinger i will have to reconstruct and refine as well. such is life.

so who are my current girl crushes? this list could really be much longer and include all time favorites like julia roberts, sandra bullock, marilyn monroe, jackie pullinger, natalie portman, ann m. martin (where would i be without the babysitters club books? let alone the movie!), joyce meyer, beth moore, carrie bradshaw, all of the golden girls, heidi baker, sarah palin... and of course my mom, grandma shank, my awesome aunts and cousins and cousin-in-laws, my friends and their moms ...but here are just a few of the girls of right now, in no particular order:

1. TAYLOR SWIFT. she's awesome. she is always in my rotation of greatest music to jam out to in the car and she has a song with terrific lyrics for every mood and moment.
2. TINA FEY. intelligent + hilarious + classy. as a general rule i don't think women are as funny as men, but tina fey is my exception to that thought. also AMY POEHLER, soo funny.
3. BEYONCE. 100% inspiration and beauty. also thank you to beyonce for my one of my current favorite jams - "best thing i never had." (thank God i dodged a bullet//thank God i found the good in goodbye.)

JOY

joy is the theme of my life lately. does God ever speak to you in themes? i can't really explain it but He does that with me and the theme right now is joy. a good one, yeah? this joy thing keeps confronting me and i love it.

i was hanging out with my friend sarah's mom, patti, aka marsha, (we both have ridic nicknames for our moms, we were so destined to be friends. so few people understand this nickname thing, just like so few people understand the humor of "the sea willows" aka becky, sarah and chelsea.) and she gave me the *best* devotional book. i'm not usually a fan of daily devotionals, but when patti read me the one for the day when we were talking and it spoke DIRECTLY to my life i was impressed and as i continue reading the book i'm amazed at the way God speaks to me through every page.

the book is "God Calling," written by two anonymous women who call themselves 'two listeners' in lieu of being recognized. the insight is profound, challenging, encouraging, and simply excellent in every way. the one patti read me initially was so perfect, one of those kisses from God reminding me how much He loves me. those are always good.

she gave me a copy and later i had to flip it to december 16 - my birthday. i think this is a youngest child thing. i'm only saying that because once i was in an airport, browsing in a bookstore and i picked up "the birth order" book by dr. kevin leman. i flipped straight to the chapter on youngest children. and it started off with something like 'i'm onto you, youngest children. you haven't even read the rest of this book. you just opened it right to this chapter written about you ...' gasp! how did he know me so well?! who knew that being a youngest child would shape so much of my personality? that book is still on my reading list, obviously the dude's got some serious insight.

so whether i did it because i'm a youngest or not, i like to think that if an author can predict my reading habits, then God can too - and He knew exactly when i'd be flipping to december 16 in "God Calling." and december 16 is titled "what joy is." of course it is. because i'm a daughter of the Most High God, the Creator of the universe, and He adores me. i love being loved by Him. i love that He speaks to me.

so i don't know if God speaks to you in themes ... or is speaking to you about joy or not ... but i hope that this nugget of truth and wisdom encourages you like it did me and that the God of hope fills you with all JOY through the power of His Spirit ...

"You shall have my joy. But Life right now for you both is a march - a toilsome march ... The Joy will come, but for the moment do not think of that, think simply of the march. Joy is the reward ...

Between My Promise of the Gift of Joy to My disciples and their realization of that Joy came sense of failure, disappointment, denial, desertion, hopelessness, then hope, waiting, and courage in the face of danger.

Joy is the reward of patiently seeing Me in the dull dark days, of trusting when you cannot see ... Joy is as it were your heart's response to My smile of recognition of your faithfulness ...

Stop thinking your lives are all wrong if you do not feel it ... Remeber you may not yet by joyous, but you are brave, and courage and unselfish thought for others are sure signs of true discipleship as Joy." [from "God Calling"]

right on the money honey

allowing words to move you is one of many things that makes being a nerd worthwhile. as soon as my summer class ended i hit the library and signed out way too many books. i'm in the middle of "the history of love" by nicole krauss and can't wait to read everything that she's written. one of my favorite lines? "once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question that he wanted to spend the rest of his life answering." aw. :-) also reading john piper, nicholas sparks, stormie omartian and my all-time favorite beth moore.

my sensational gem of a friend becky had a *terrific* quote on her blog by paulo coelho that led me to google more of his stuff. he has a way with words. i started copying his quotes into my journal but my hand got tired and i decided typing them out would be much easier. so these are mostly for my personal enjoyment, but enjoy anyway.

"Waiting hurts. Forgetting hurts. But not knowing which decision to take is the worst of suffering."

"If you have a dream, don’t waste your energies explaining why."

"Forgive but do not forget, or you will be hurt again. Forgiving changes the perspectives. Forgetting loses the lesson."


"Smiling non-stop works, makes you and people around you feel better, and it does not blind you to the problems around that must be solved. Try it. Smile now."
"What money can’t buy is much more important than what money can buy."


"Don’t allow your wounds to turn you into a person you are not."

"Be careful. You can hurt with your words, but you can also hurt with your silence." (this is so good, i hate when people refuse to address things or avoid talking about something because it's uncomfortable. get over yourself.)

"I believe that when we look for love courageously, it reveals itself, and we attract even more love. If one person really wants us, everyone does. But if we’re alone, we become even more alone. Life is strange…"

"To believe in your path you don’t need to prove that other people’s choices are wrong."

"How long will you keep pounding on an open door?" [all quotes by paulo coelho]