Lynse Leanne

This picture was taking in High School…the summer between my Junior and Senior year.

The four of us were inseparable. We did everything together. We met at church…well, i met them at church, they were friends much longer than I was in the picture because we moved between my sophomore and junior year.

There were so many fun memories that we all had together. There were a lot of things we learned about each other, life and ourselves. Together we dealt with big life issues and played…usually in the same day.

These 3 girls made my last 2 years in high school enjoyable. They were the first friends to know my story. They loved me. We loved and still love each other.

- we would sneak out to fork our youth pastors lawn, video tape it, show our parents and then lie about WHEN it was.
- we shared some of our darkest moments.
- we kept up on each others lives through our spybooks.
- we had random photo shoots.
- we snuck in and redesigned Irene’s room, while you were out style.
- we went camping.
- we endured, each Sunday, the bible study we were in and affectionately referred to it as “torture.”
- tattoos before we were 18.
- we drove one early morning to Denver to see Hanson. Sat in the hot sun all day for a 7pm show. And Zac touched our hands. Irene and I cried.

That time in life felt like a movie. We all had different styles, different life stories, different families and different perspectives. But it worked.

We have all gone our separate ways…. Irene has 4 precious kids and an amazing husband who is in the Air Force. Rachel is married to her first love and she’s in nursing school. Becca is living in California and is beautiful as ever. and well, we know where I am.

i know i look back on those days with fond memories. Some fun and hilarious. Some tough and growing experiences. But all memories that have made me the Lynse that i am today.

Do you have those friends that you knew in High School that you still talk with?

today in the ample time i have at the coffee shop i was thinking about being happy and if you can have joy and be unhappy at the same time…and if there is a difference in happiness and joy.

i know that there have been times in my life when i am happy externally…like things are going my way and everything is good. But then the other times in life when i am not too happy and the things around me kind of suck. You know, the times when you’re not happy with your job or the amount of money you have.

on the other hand i know that joy is a fruit of the spirit and you should walk always in the joy that God is the provider and saviour. But does that mean that i always have to be happy?

Anyways my thought is, is there a difference between joy and happiness? Is joy internal and happiness external? Can you have joy inside and be very unhappy with the life around you?

Curious of your thoughts. Is there a difference in joy and happiness? is joy internal and happiness circumstantial?

So my friend Josh Hudnall tweeted about this today and i died laughing.

That would hurt!!

Have you ever done anything stupid or painful that you just had to keep moving on after?

I want to share what i am reading…blogs, books and otherwise….

BLOGS

Design Milk. I am not sure how I stumbled upon this blog but I LOVE IT. I think I found their twitter account via twitter’s recommendation craziness. Anyways, I love looking at pretty things that make my creative juices flow. Oh, and they also have Dog Milk…designed stuff for dogs.

Moleskinerie. To be honest, this is my homepage. I love my moleskine and have used one since Jr. year in High School. I can look back over the past 8 years of my life through them. Moleskinerie makes me enjoy my moleskine (or what I call “spybooks“) even more. And it’s also full of pretty things.

PostSecret. When I was in High School I heard about these books. I would spend hours on end flipping through them at my bookstore. Once I sent a secret in to PostSecret. It was actually very therapeutic for me. Sunday mornings it is the first thing I do when I wake up….turn off the alarm. Go to PostSecret. Get ready for church.

BOOKS

Permission to Speak Freely. Y’all I seriously picked up and read it in a day. Cover to cover. I couldn’t put it down. Yet each day I am re-reading chapters and letting them sink in. Letting it sink into my soul. It is beautifully written. If you have not picked it up yet I would strongly encourage it. Here is a link to push you a little more. ;)

SuperFreakonomics. It is a second book after their very successful Freakonomics. I think it may have been the first book I read after my almost fundamental stage of life. It was the first “secular” books I read after becoming a Christian. I loved the linking of seemingly random things. And it made me laugh. So when I discovered that there was a follow up book I was so excited. So I am reading it and I am just as happy and impressed. It’s a fun good and pretty easy read.

So, there you go. I would love to know what blogs and books you are reading. I’m always looking for good blogs and books. Share on my friends.

I need a hobby.

Something to be an outlet.

Chad thinks I should take up knitting.

I am unsure about that option.

I just can’t see myself doing this….

What is your hobby? Do you have one?